Greggs to reopen select UK stores as early as next week

So, the good news is that Greggs is reopening some of its bakeries amid the nationwide lockdown as early as next week (from Tuesday May 5, to be exact). The not so good news for pastry fans in London is that it’s looking unlikely that you’ll be able to pick up a piping hot sausage, bean and cheese melt for more than a month. Greggs is only opening 20 stores in its initial trial run, and the lot of them are in Newcastle. 

Don’t be too disheartened, though, as a steak bake could be yours come June should Greggs’ trial run go smoothly and lockdown measures across the country begin to ease. The bakery chain is planning to open 700 stores across the UK from Monday June 8 – although, its staying tight-lipped about those exact branch locations for now. 

And although its hard for Greggs to predict what’s ahead, the ambition is to have all UK stores back up and running by July 1, with a view to fuelling a sausage-roll (vegan or otherwise) starved nation. 

A spokesperson from Greggs explained the trial measures: ‘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, Greggs has shared the secret formula for its famous steak bake, so you can try and relive those precious pastry memories while staying safe at home. 

Disappointed? Have a cheeky Nando’s instead. It just reopened some London branches. 

Or order in a Shake Shack to meet your steak bake-related meat needs.