POPULAR café chain Pret A Manger will be reopening its Oracle branch next week.

The chain announced today that it will be reopening a further 204 shops, including in Reading, for takeaway and delivery on Monday, June 1.

Shops will reopen for the first time in some towns and cities, brining the total number of reopened shops to more than 300, following the temporarily closure of all shops in March due to the outbreak of COVID-19.

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Pret 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.

As the Pret 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 UK 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 and Butternut Risotto and Pea and Mint, so they can enjoy some well-loved Pret recipes at home.

Pret has also expanded its delivery operation, with delivery available through Deliveroo, Just Eat and UberEats, dependent on the shop’s location.

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.

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These include:

  • Protective Perspex screens fitted to the till counter
  • Restricted customer flow into shops, with the number of people allowed inside at any one time based on the square footage of the shop
  • 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
  • Enhanced cleaning processes, including 30-minute sanitising of all hand contact surfaces.

Pano Christou, CEO of Pret, said: “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."