Wagamama, Frankie & Benny's and Pizza Express share update on reopening plans

The details are ahead of the nationwide 'Eat Out to Help Out' scheme backed by the UK government, encouraging people to supporting businesses affected by the coronavirus lockdown.

We've put together the latest on what each chain have told us about their return to high streets across the country.

Wagamama

Wagamama have announced the return of their dine-in operation at 67 sites across the UK using ingenious sliding screens to keep diners safe whilst maintaining an enjoyable experience.

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The screens, inspired by Japanese partition designs, take advantage of the long wagamama bench designs to ensure safe dining.

The team at wagamama used guest feedback to devise the sliding screens which sit on tiny rollers and can be moved up and down the full length of the benches discretely separating parties of guests from one another. 

The ‘stay safe the Wagamama way’ re-opening will allow customers to experience the restaurant making a feature of the restaurant’s iconic benches.

Wagamama reopened four trial sites to test the safety and efficiency of the designs which were put in place to meet strict social distancing and increased hygiene measures.

The first restaurant to open was at the Royal Festival Hall in central London on Saturday, July 4 and included a wide variety of innovative ideas to keep customers and team members safe.

The first site was then followed by three others at the Trafford Centre, Stevenage and Swindon from Monday, July 6.

The next wave saw a further 15 open and on Monday, July 27, Wagamama reopened 28 sites.

A total of 29 branches will reopen on Friday, July 31. 

A further site will be opened on August 3, five more on August 4 and the remaining four on August 5 with a further 31 restaurants re-opening early August, locations to be confirmed. 

By the end of August there will be 138 wagamama restaurants open and all will participate in the ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme.

Other measures the restaurant is taking to ensure guests stay safe the wagamama way include social distancing queueing, disposable menus on placemats, front of house team members in face visors and the restaurants will also be cashless, providing a simple pay on phone mechanic at the end of the meal which minimises staff contact and adheres to the government’s request of taking the name and phone number of at least one person in the group visiting the restaurant.

CEO of Wagamama Emma Woods said: “The main question we have been working on as a team is how can our guests feel safe but still have a communal wagamama experience, sitting on our benches.

"The team have applied our philosophy of kaizen - good change - to this challenge and I am delighted we have found a design solution which provides social distancing for our guests in a way which is true to the design ethos of the brand.”

These branches reopened on July 27:

• Ashford
• Basingstoke
• Bath
• Bedford
• Birmingham Bullring
• Bournemouth
• Bracknell
• Bristol Cabot Circus
• Canterbury
• Croydon
• Derby
• Glasgow Fort
• Harrogate
• Hereford
• Lakeside
• Leamington
• Manchester St Peters
• Meadowhall
• Milton Keynes
• Newcastle
• Norwich
• Portsmouth
• Putney
• Rushden Lakes
• Salisbury
• Solihull
• Southampton
• York Designer Outlet

These branches will reopen on July 31:

• Aylesbury
• Basildon
• Bletchley
• Brent Cross
• Brighton
• Bromley
• Bury St Edmunds
• Camberley
• Cambridge
• Colchester
• Coventry
• East Midlands
• Gloucester Quays
• High Wycombe
• Ipswich
• Leeds Trinity
• Leeds White Rose
• Liverpool Speke
• Maidstone
• Manchester Spinningfields
• Reading
• Uxbridge
• Victoria
• Wandsworth
• Watford
• Westfield White City
• Whiteley Fareham
• Winchester
• Windsor

These branches will reopen in August:

• August 3 - Leicester Highcross
• August 4 - Aberdeen
• August 4 - Edinburgh Fort Kinaird
• August 4 - Edinburgh St Andrews
• August 4 - Glasgow City Ctr
• August 4 - Silverburn
• August 5 - Bridgend
• August 5 - Cardiff Library
• August 5 - Cardiff Mermaid
• August 5 - Newport

Frankie & Benny's

Frankie & Benny’s have released a list of a further 15 restaurants that have reopened for dine-in, click and collect and delivery this week, taking the total number of reopened sites to 35 by the end of the month.

The company say they will also be taking part in the Eat Out to Help Out scheme throughout August, offering 50.

All restaurants listed below reopened for click and collect, delivery and dine-in from July 27:

• Basildon - Festival Park
• Burleigh House - The Strand
• Feltham
• Trowbridge
• Exeter - Marsh Barton
• Swindon
• Birmingham - The Fort
• Northampton – Riverside
• Derby Pride Park
• Rotheram
• Eldon Square Newcastle
• York - Clifton Moor
• Metrocentre, Gateshead
• Glasgow Fort
• Dunfermline

Customers will be asked to book in advance with contact details collected through their digital platforms (bookings, order at table and pay my bill), which will be stored for 21 days, in accordance to Government’s guidance.

Mark Chambers, CEO of the Leisure division, said: "We are delighted to be reopening more Frankie & Benny’s restaurants and very much look forward to welcoming back our guests.

"Our priority will be to ensure the health and safety of our teams and guests whilst providing a first-class experience.

"We are very pleased with the feedback we have received from returning guests so far and we will be monitoring feedback very closely to ensure we continue to deliver a great and safe experience.

"We are also thrilled to participate in the Eat Out to Help Out scheme. This is a much-needed boost for our sector, and we thank the Government for their support."

Pizza Express

PizzaExpress has announced the reopening dates for more than 150 more of its pizzerias across the UK.

A total of 71 restaurants will reopen for dine-in and dine-out services on Thursday, July 30, and an additional 88 on Thursday, August 6.

The next phases of PizzaExpress’ reopening plan follow successful ‘test and learn’ trials of delivery, click-and-collect and dine-in services at selected pizzerias since July 9.

The company say that further phases of UK restaurant reopenings will be announced in due course.

Opening in accordance with the latest government advice, each pizzeria has robust measures in place to ensure the safety and wellbeing of teams and customers.

These include a physically distanced layout, hand sanitiser stations, heightened hygiene procedures and cleaning measures along with regular health checks of team members. PizzaExpress has also introduced a new online booking service, as well as a new digital menu and cashless payment to assist and reassure customers. 

Each pizzeria that’s open will be supporting the government’s ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme throughout August for dine-in customers.

Zoe Bowley, managing director at PizzaExpress said: "It’s been very exciting to welcome customers back into our restaurants in the last fortnight, and our teams are looking forward to reopening hundreds more pizzerias in the next few weeks.

"Our top priority remains the safety and wellbeing of our teams and customers, and we are very grateful for the way that our customers have embraced our new procedures.

"The response to our online booking system, new digital menus and cashless payments has been fantastic, and we encourage everyone to use these services as much as possible as their local restaurant reopens.

"All of our open restaurants will be very happily supporting the Eat out to Help Out scheme in August, which will give our customers outstanding value for money.

"We’re working hard to provide the PizzaExpress experience that our customers love in a safe and responsible way, as we bring back our freshly handmade pizza to even more locations as soon as we can."

The pizzerias that will reopen on Thursday, July 30, are:

1. Bournemouth Beach
2. Falmouth
3. Newquay
4. St. Ives
5. Blackpool
6. Barnes
7. Hampton Court
8. Kew
9. Kingston 2 – The Rotunda
10. Muswell Hill
11. Paddington
12. Radlett
13. Ruislip
14. Stanmore
15. Twickenham
16. Watford
17. Wimbledon 1 – Village
18. Bedford
19. Cambridge – Jesus Lane
20. Cambridge – Regent St
21. Derby – Irongate
22. Derby – Intu
23. East Midlands Park
24. Huntingdon
25. Lincoln
26. Newark
27. Nottingham – King St
28. Nottingham – Giltbrook
29. Peterborough
30. Rushden Lakes
31. St. Neots
32. Stamford
33. West Bridgford
34. Aldershot
35. Alresford
36. Alton
37. Banstead
38. Bracknell
39. Camberley
40. Caterham
41. Cheam
42. Chertsey
43. Cobham – Anyards Road
44. Coulsdon
45. Cranleigh
46. Crawley
47. Croydon – Valley Park
48. Dorking
49. Epsom
50. Farnham
51. Fleet
52. Godalming
53. Guildford
54. Haslemere
55. Horsham
56. Marlow
57. New Malden
58. Oxted
59. Petersfield
60. Purely
61. Sunningdale
62. Surbiton
63. Sutton 2
64. Wallington
65. Weybridge
66. Winchester
67. Worcester Park
68. Brighton – Prince Albert St
69. Brighton – Brighton Marina
70. Brighton – Jubilee St
71. Brent Cross

The pizzerias that will reopen on Thursday, August 6, are:

1. Andover
2. Basingstoke
3. Basingstoke – Festival Place
4. Bath
5. Bath 2
6. Christchurch
7. Devizes
8. Dorchester
9. Exeter
10. Marlborough
11. Newbury
12. Plymouth – Barbican
13. Poole – Tower Park
14. Salisbury
15. Taunton
16. Truro
17. Westbourne
18. Aberdeen – Union Square
19. Edinburgh – George IV Bridge
20. Glasgow – Queen St
21. Teesside Park
22. Manchester – King St
23. Lavender Hill
24. Wandsworth – Old York Road
25. Epping
26. Harlow
27. Harpenden
28. Hitchin
29. Loughton
30. Romford
31. Upminster
32. Welwyn Garden City
33. Winchmore Hill
34. Abingdon
35. Banbury
36. Bicester
37. Birmingham – Brindley Place
38. Birmingham – Bullring
39. Bristol – Harbourside
40. Cardiff – High St
41. Gloucester Quays
42. Hemel Hempstead
43. Leighton Buzzard
44. Loughborough
45. Oxford – Golden Cross
46. Shrewsbury
47. Stratford Upon Avon
48. Sutton Coldfield
49. Wallingford
50. Witney
51. Amersham
52. Gerrards Cross
53. Henley
54. Maidenhead
55. Reading – Oracle
56. Southampton – Westquay
57. Windsor
58. Wokingham
59. Arundel
60. Bluewater
61. Bluewater – The Plaza
62. Bromley
63. Bromley – St Marks Centre
64. Canterbury
65. Chichester
66. Eastbourne
67. Eltham
68. Hastings
69. High Wicombe – Eden Centre
70. Hove
71. Lewes
72. Portsmouth
73. Sevenoaks
74. Worthing
75. Leeds – Headingley
76. Leeds – Albion Place
77. Sheffield – Meadowhall
78. Sheffield – St Pauls Place
79. Beckenham
80. Bexleyheath
81. Chislehurst
82. Great Portland Street
83. Leicester Square
84. London Wall – Salisbury House
85. Sidcup
86. West Wickham
87. Fleet – Services
88. Oxford – Services

The pizzerias that are currently open, are:

Dine-in services

1. Jersey – St. Brelade
2. Jersey – St. Helier
3. Buxton
4. Carlisle
5. Cheshire Oaks
6. Chester
7. Didsbury
8. Hale
9. Knutsford
10. Liverpool – King’s Waterfront
11. Macclesfield
12. Poynton
13. Wilmslow
14. Bar Marzano – Norwich
15. Basildon
16. Bishops Stortford
17. Braintree
18. Brentwood
19. Bury St. Edmonds
20. Chelmsford
21. Colchester
22. Ely
23. Hatfield
24. Hertford
25. Ipswich – Regatta Quay
26. Kings Lynn
27. Lakeside
28. Newmarket
29. Norwich – St. Benedict Street
30. Norwich – Forum Building
31. Rayleigh
32. Southend
33. Berkhamsted
34. Beverley
35. Durham
36. Harrogate
37. Hull – Princes Quay
38. Ilkley
39. Newcastle – Eldon Square
40. Skipton
41. York – River House
42. York – McArthur Glen 
43. York – St. Sampsons Square
44. London – Abbey Road
45. London – Bankside
46. Gretna Gateway

Delivery-only and click-and-collect services:

1. Abbeville Road
2. Balham
3. Belsize Park
4. Camden
5. Chiswick
6. Croydon – George Street
7. Dulwich
8. Ealing
9. Fulham Road – (363)
10. Greenwich
11. Notting Hill Gate
12. Shepherds Bush
13. Wandsworth – Trinity Road
14. London - Fulham Road
15. London - Kennington, London
16. London - Highgate
17. London - Putney
18. London – Wimbledon, Broadway 
19. London - Islington
20. London - Stratford East
21. London - Pimlico
22. London - South Woodford
23. London - Mill Hill
24. London - Barnet
25. Reigate
26. London - Teddington
27. London - Whetstone
28. St Albans
29. London - Walthamstow
30. London - Richmond
31. London - Curtain Road
32. Esher
33. Walton On Thames
34. London – Harrow, St George Centre 
35. Woking