Crowd concerns see Greggs stall reopening plans

Greggs has stalled plans for the reopening of 20 stores amid concerns that the move could attract crowds of eager customers.

The bakery had hoped to see the sites open on Monday and, like several large groups, had been exploring ways to ensure social distancing could be maintained to protect both staff and customers.

However reaction to the news that the sausage roll and steak bake specialist was planning to open its doors once again has led it to believe demand could be high, prompting further testing of these methods.

A spokesperson said: “Due to significant interest in our 20-shop trial, and the risk that excessive numbers of customers may plan to visit Greggs, we will now initially operate these trials behind closed doors in order to effectively test our new operational safety measures.

“We will continue to review this and will invite walk-in customers into our shops only when we can be confident of doing so in the controlled manner we intended.”