Greggs to start reopening stores amid lockdown - when will it open in Leeds?

Greggs said it plans to reopen a small number of stores for takeaway and delivery next week after shutting all its sites due to the pandemic.

The boss of the bakery chain has told staff it plans to open 20 stores in the Newcastle area from Monday May 4 as part of a "controlled trial".

Roger Whiteside, chief executive of the business, said he hopes the trial will inform the business about what changes need to be made to operate safely and meet social distancing guidelines.

He said he believes the trial, which will involve a limited product range and shorter trading hours, will take at least two weeks.

In a letter to staff, Mr Whiteside said he hopes to open around 700 stores, including 150 franchise shops, with new operational measures in place from June 8.

He did not specify if these would include any of the 30 Leeds stores - including the nine in the city centre.

Mr Whiteside said: "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," the chief executive said.

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

The company predicted that sales in the stores will be "significantly lower than normal" while social distancing measures are in place.

Mr Whiteside said it then intends to open all of its 2,050 stores, including Leeds stores, by July 1.

This is when the government's current furlough support package is due to end.

A Greggs spokeswoman said: "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 re-open at scale."

Rivals such as Burger King, Pret a Manger and KFC have already reopened a small number of sites for takeaway and delivery.

Meanwhile, it is understood that Leon is due to re-open six of its restaurants for delivery and click-and-collect, in addition to the 16 it has kept open to sell groceries.