(Reuters) – Starbucks Corp <SBUX.O> said on Monday it would begin a phased reopening of 150 of its drive-thru locations and some takeaway-only stores in the United Kingdom as the country eases coronavirus-led restrictions on road travel.
The stores will start reopening from Thursday, the company said https://bit.ly/2WjJW0y, with social-distancing protocols in place as well as increased cleaning and sanitizing.
The company said it would serve most beverages, including everything lattes and frappuccinos, but limited food items.
Starbucks, which owns about a thousand restaurants in the United Kingdom, closed all its stores in March following government-mandated lockdown in the country to curb the spread of the virus.
In China, 90% of Starbucks stores were now open and about 85% of its stores in the United States were open for delivery.
Earlier this month, McDonald’s Corp <MCD.N> said it would reopen 15 restaurants in the United Kingdom for delivery only, while UK media has reported other chains are also looking at ways to get business going again.
(Reporting by Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru; Editing by Ramakrishnan M. and Shinjini Ganguli)
