Covid 19 coronavirus: McDonald's working towards opening once lockdown lifts

Takeaway hamburgers and pizza and subs are back on the menu as McDonald's, Domino's and Subway get ready to reopen next Tuesday.

McDonald's is confident the majority of its restaurants with drive-thru will open across the country when lockdown lifts next Tuesday, while Domino's is ready to deliver pizzas across the country without any contact.

Subway's 250 stores will also be taking orders via an app or online and they can be collected at contactless pick-up stations or Uber Eats.

McDonald's is in the process of working with its suppliers to confirm whether it could access stock and help franchisees ensure they could openly safely.

Drive-thru and delivery both ensured physical distancing while the restaurants would not open until the levels dropped further.

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"With the update from the Government on timing to move to alert level 3 we are now working on how to get as many restaurants as we can open once the deadline passes," a McDonald's spokesperson said.

"There are a number of factors we have to consider, including the time our suppliers need to ramp back up, getting stock around the country, and helping our franchisees and their staff get ready to open safe and happy restaurants."

About 130 of its 170 restaurants offered drive-thru and the company was working on providing contactless training to its 10,000 staff and ensuring further hygiene, sanitation and food-safety procedures.

• Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website
It had also updated manuals, checklists and training modules on how the restaurants will operate.

McDonald's New Zealand managing director Dave Howse told the Herald last week that preparations to fulfill the 1.6m million orders a week had been a complex undertaking spanning the entire business.

"The number of scenarios we have worked through is immense – staggered reopenings, when to place orders with suppliers, physical distancing, what menu items we can offer, one region at a time, reduced staff availability," he said.

Howse said with 85 per cent of ingredients sourced locally favourites would be on the menu from reopening or would not be far away.

McDonald's would share its opening date on its website and the Macca's app once it was finalised.

Domino's NZ general manager Cameron Toomey said the pizza chain would open next Tuesday. He was expecting strong demand based on an increase in deliveries pre-lockdown and was hiring 1000 staff as a result.

A Subway spokesperson said a number of additional preventative health measures were implemented at all Subway restaurants in March in addition to its existing stringent hygiene practices and these would continue under level 3.