Delivery relaunches continue to grow

Pret, Giggling Squid, Turtle Bay, Ping Pong Dim Sum and 7Bone Burger Co. are some of the latest operators to reopen sites this week for delivery and collection.

On Tuesday (5 May), Giggling Squid reopened ten of its 35 kitchens as part of a trial delivery-only period.

Partnering with Deliveroo, the brand is offering a limited six-dish menu of customer favourites including salt and pepper squid, duck spring rolls and a red or green curry.

If the trial is a success, it is understood that the brand may look to reopen further sites in the coming weeks.

As of tomorrow (7 May), Caribbean concept Turtle Bay will be offering delivery and click and collect out of four sites: Bristol Cheltenham Road, Colchester, Crawley and Nottingham.

Available Wednesday to Sunday from 5pm, the brand has also reduced its menu size. Six dishes will be available to order including the big Kingston grill down, curry goat hash and avocado smash on grilled roti.

Reopening in a smaller capacity, Ping Pong Dim Sum announced it was relaunching delivery and collection on Tuesday from its St Christopher’s Place site.

In partnership with Deliveroo, the brand will be open to orders from 11.30am to 9pm, and NHS and frontline workers will be given a 25% discount.

“Whilst for the rest of our restaurants our re-opening date is still indefinite, we will be working behind the baskets to figure out when we will be back up steaming again,” read a statement on its website.

7Bone Burger Co. has also announced plans to relaunch delivery and takeaway and is set to open six of its nine restaurants next week.

It is not yet clear whether the brand intends to cut down its menu, but from 5pm next Tuesday (12 May), its sites in Southampton, Bournemouth, Camberley, Newbury, Portsmouth and Reading will be open for orders.

Since opening two of its London restaurants - Tottenham Court Road and Canary Wharf - last month, Shake Shack is set to open its first dark kitchen this weekend (8-10 May).

The brand has secured a space at the Deliveroo Editions site in Battersea. It will be the first of two Shake Shack delivery-only kitchens, with a second site lined up in Camden’s Swiss Cottage district set to open later in the year. 

Other openings site openings this week include Chik’n, which has opened a single site in Baker Street for delivery, and Smashburger, which has reopened five UK sites in Bath, Brighton, Glasgow, Milton Keynes and Newcastle. 

In addition to the re-openings, Five Guys and Franco Manca have decided to extend their already existing delivery offer, both announcing further site openings this week.

Five Guys, which already had 26 of its 100 sites operating, has opened an additional 14, bringing its total operational estate to 40.

Although the brand has retained a full menu offering, it has assured customers that health and safety procedures were being followed in line with government advice.

“We have adopted a phased approach to reopening Five Guys stores, adhering to government advice and ensuring the safety of our customers and crew is paramount,” said John Eckbert, CEO.

“To date a small number of stores have remained open for click-and-collect and Deliveroo orders only and while this has been in operation, we’re proud of how our crew members have supported local hospitals and key front line workers across the UK.”

Since reopening six of its pizzeria’s last week, Franco Manca has announced that it will open a further six as of 7 May.

For the time being, all the brand’s reopened stores are in London, with Bermondsey, Earls Court and Islington among the locations due to open this week.

Customers can order through Deliveroo or opt for click and collect via the Franco Manca website, and the restaurants will be operating a limited service between 4pm and 10pm each day.

Meanwhile, several large-scale QSR operators have continued to carry out reopening plans.

KFC opened the drive thru lanes in 55 of its 100 open stores this week, and McDonalds has announced the 15 sites it plans to open on 13 May.

Pret has also announced plans to reopen further shops on 11 May. With planned sites both in and outside London, the business will be opening an additional 70 stores, bringing its operational estate - for takeaway and delivery only - to 100.