Pret A Manger to open 200 shops on 1 June - including five in Edinburgh

Pret A Manger will reopen with social distancing measures during the pandemic

The cafe chain will be offering a limited menu of some of its most popular sandwiches, salads, and baguettes, as well as hot and cold drinks, bakery items, fruit, and snacks which includes the Classic Super Club sandwich, Posh Cheddar and Pickle baguette, Tuna Mayo and Cucumber baguette, and Chef’s Italian Chicken Salad.

From today (Thurs), the Capital’s North Bridge shop has reopened which will be followed by Pret A Mangers on Castle Street, Hanover Street, Lothian Road, Princes Street, and Waverley Station on Monday.

For those unable to make it to the shop, Pret has also expanded its delivery operation, with delivery available through Deliveroo, Just Eat and UberEats, dependent on the location.

The number of people entering shops will be limited

As the business adapts to an environment where more people are working from home, the company has this month launched its first retail coffee range, including three organic coffee products now on sale on Amazon and in Pret shops.

Customers can also buy the new ‘Heat Me at Home’ Macaroni Cheese range and a selection of ‘Heat Me at Home’ soups, including Mushroom Risotto, Chicken & Butternut Risotto and Pea & Mint, so they can enjoy some well-loved Pret recipes at home.

As part of the phased reopening, the company has introduced several new safety measures to help keep customers and team members safe, in line with government guidance which include protective Perspex screens fitted to the till counters and restricted customer flow into shops, with the number of people allowed inside at any one time based on the square footage of the shop.

There are also social distancing restrictions in kitchens, which will allow only one person in certain areas of the kitchen at any one time – for example, fridges or staff rooms.

Pret also have enhanced cleaning processes, including 30-minute sanitising of all hand contact surfaces.

Pano Christou, CEO of Pret commented: “One of the best things about Pret is the way our teams rise to new challenges and that’s exactly what we’ve seen over the past few weeks. We’re rapidly transforming our business in light of the pandemic and the dramatic drop in city centre footfall.

“The changes we’ve been making include new ways to serve customers and bring Pret’s products to our customers’ homes safely. It's going to continue to be tough for Pret in the months ahead, and I'd like to thank our Team Members who are returning to work and making reopening possible."