McDonald’s will begin its phased reopening of restaurants in Ireland beginning with six restaurants, the fast food giant has confirmed.
In a statement today, McDonald’s noted that the first six restaurants would be in the Dublin area, which will open for drive thru only on Wednesday, May 20.
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Michael Creed has given his support for the reopening.
Commenting, the minister said:
“McDonald’s is a valued key purchaser of Irish produce and an employer of a large number of people throughout Ireland.
I therefore welcome today’s announcement that McDonald’s restaurants will begin a cautious reopening in Ireland from May 20 with a small number of restaurants opening as drive thru only at first.
“The last couple of months have been undoubtedly tough, both economically and socially, but the recent announcement from Government on the phased reopening of the country offers reassurance and hope for brighter days ahead,” the minister added.
15 UK outlets to open tomorrow
This follows the news earlier this month that McDonald’s is to begin its reopening plans by starting with 15 of its outlets in the UK tomorrow, Wednesday, May 13 – on a limited, delivery-only capacity.
In a statement today, Tuesday, May 12, McDonald’s UK and Ireland chief executive Paul Pomroy expanded on this and outlined the new safety measures that will be in place when its outlets reopen.
“From 11:00am tomorrow, 15 pilot restaurants in the south-east of England will offer delivery only as we seek to slowly and safely reopen our restaurants,” Pomroy said.
“We will have a £25 order cap as we adjust to smaller teams and social distancing in our kitchens. I want to reiterate the restaurants, drive thrus and their car parks remain closed, we will only be serving food via Uber Eats this week.
In line with government guidance I can today announce we will pilot reopening six drive thru restaurants in the Dublin area on Wednesday, May 20, and we will confirm the locations next week.
“Moving in step with government guidelines, we plan to reopen all our drive thrus by early June across the UK and Ireland. As locations reopen, you will be able to search for a location near you on our website,” Pomroy said.
“From May 20, we will also cap spend in our drive thrus at €30 per car and I would encourage you to pay by contactless payment methods wherever possible.”
The CEO outlined the new safety measures in place, noting that routine cleaning will be carried out on an increased basis and all employees will be provided with updated training on restaurant cleanliness and sanitisation.
“All restaurants will be deep cleaned before reopening.”
- Fewer people in the kitchen and service areas, serving a reduced menu over reduced hours;
- The use of contactless thermometers, with temperatures checked on arrival at work;
- Perspex screens in key locations in the kitchen and service areas;
- Protective equipment for our people including gloves for customer and courier facing positions and face masks, but not the type needed by healthcare professionals;
- And additional training on cleanliness practices, including increased frequency of handwashing and extra sanitising of touch points around the restaurant.
Noting that the company will be offering a reduced menu on its return to support social distancing in kitchens, Pomroy added that, in conjunction with Uber Eats, perspex screens, sanitising stations and new social distancing procedures will be introduced to continue the contact-free collections and drop-offs that closed in March.
“As we get accustomed to the new processes and procedures, we will look to reopen more restaurants, for longer hours and reintroduce more menu items. But only when I am confident we can do so whilst maintaining the new procedures we have introduced for the protection of our people,” the CEO said.
Largest Buyer Of Irish Beef
News of the planned reopening will come as extremely welcome news for Irish beef farmers, with McDonald’s claiming the title of the largest buyer of Irish beef by volume every year.
“We purchase 40,000t of beef which is then exported to other European markets, meaning that every year one in five hamburgers sold in McDonald’s in Europe is of Irish origin,” the fast food giant notes on its website.