Greggs is reopening some of its stores in 'controlled trial' amid lockdown

If you've been missing your steak bakes and sausage rolls, you'll be pleased to know that Greggs is opening some of its stores next month.

On 4th May, Greggs will be opening 20 of its stores in a 'controlled trial' to see if they're able to stay open during lockdown.

The bakery chain will only be offering takeaways and deliveries during this trial period.

There'll also be a limited product range and shorter trading hours across these selected stores.

Greggs chief executive Roger Whiteside has confirmed the trial will take place over two weeks in the Newcastle area.

He hopes that the trial will demonstrate what changes need to be made to operate safely during unprecendented times.

In a letter to his staff, Whiteside explained this could allow them to reopen 700 stores with new measures in place from 8th June.

He wrote, "We expect it will only be possible to open this many shops if the government has taken a first step in relaxing the lockdown, which could be to open the schools.

"This timing may change depending on future government announcements."

Greggs currently has 2,050 across the UK and they currently intend to open them by 1st July. This is in line with when the government's furlough scheme is due to end.

A spokeswoman added, "We want to play our part in getting the nation back up and running again, so we are planning to conduct a limited trial with volunteers to explore how we can reopen our shops with new measures in place that keep our colleagues and customers as safe as we can when we reopen at scale."

In the meantime, you can make your own Greggs steak bake at home.

The company shared their recipe for the classic bake and you only need five ingredients to make it. Delicious!

That should tide you over until Greggs is operating across the country again.

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