Shoppers queue round corner as Black Country Greggs reopen
Eager customers queued in the rain for their fix of sausage rolls as Greggs reopened stores in the Black Country.
The queue stretched around the corner in Wolverhampton city centre as shoppers spoke of their joy at the bakery chain reopening.
One shopper said she bought 10 sausage rolls for each week Greggs has been closed since lockdown.
Sue Evans, 42, from Parkfields, said: "My son loves Greggs sausage rolls.
"I have been waiting long for it to reopen. Every time I come to town my son wants to know if Greggs is open."
"He didn't want one sausage roll, he wanted 10 for the 10 weeks he has been off school," added her sister Tracey Saunders, 50.
Asked what they had bought from the Greggs' store, Sue said: "Sausage rolls! Sausage rolls mad."
Tracey continued: "It is very good Greggs has reopened. We like Greggs. Everybody likes Greggs."
Indeed, Greggs boasted the longest queue out of all shops open on the pedestrianised Dudley Street in the city centre.
Rachael Felton, 25, from Wolverhampton, said: "It is fantastic that Greggs has reopened.
"I work in the city centre, it nice to be able to get my lunch from here now. Especially having been in Australia, I haven't had a Greggs for a couple of months.
"I have gone for a sausage roll, the famous sausage roll."
Her colleague Bridget Felton, 53, from Wolverhampton, added: "It is nice the stores have reopened because I like the vegan sausage rolls."
Joe Williams, 23, from Bilston, said: "I think it is good that Greggs have reopened. I normally come here, I'm a fan of Greggs.
"I've gone for a sausage roll and pizza."
The store has brought in new safety measures amid the coronavirus pandemic to keep shoppers safe.
That includes posters urging customers to stand two metres apart - with one reading this is the equivalent of "about 15 sausage rolls", according to Greggs.
Social distancing markers have been installed to safely manage the queues and shops are only accepting contactless card payments. Staff are also equipped with face masks.
All of its stores closed on March 23 as part of the Government's lockdown over Covid-19.
A total of 800 Greggs stores reopened across the country yesterday. It followed a successful trial of some stores in the North East of England.
The stores which have reopened in the Wolverhampton borough are: Dudley Street, city centre; Wulfrun Shopping Centre, city centre; New Cross Hospital, Heath Town; Marsh Lane Parade, Oxley; Market Street, city centre; and Church Street, Bilston.
In Dudley, the stores are: Merry Hill shopping centre, Brierley Hill; High Street, Brierley Hill; Castle Street, Dudley; and High Street, Stourbridge.
Stores which have reopened in Walsall are: Saddlers Shopping Centre, Walsall; and Wolverhampton Road West, Willenhall.
In Sandwell, the stores which have reopened are: Princes End Outlet, Tipton; Oldbury Green Retail Park, Oldbury; and New Square Shopping Centre, West Bromwich.
In Staffordshire, the stores which have reopened are: Market Hall Street, Cannock; Watling Street, Cannock; Greengate Street, Stafford; and A5, Gailey.
Roger Whiteside, chief executive at Greggs, said: "Over the past month, we have carried out robust trials using our new operational and social distancing measures and they have progressed well.
"This has allowed us to move to our next re-opening phase with just over 800 of our shops welcoming customers back this week.
"The health and safety of our colleagues and customers is our priority and for this reason we have put in the time and effort to make a thorough assessment of all shops. Although we will open with a reduced range, this will be a significant step in us helping the nation get back up and running and serving the communities that we operate in."
