Morrisons to reopen over 300 cafés from 4 July

Morrisons is to reopen more than 300 of its cafés ready for the Saturday easing of lockdown, but customers will face a raft of new social distancing measures.

The retailer closed all its 402 cafés in March when the UK went into lockdown, although they have since reopened for takeaways only.

However, coinciding with the easing of lockdown on 4 July, 320 cafés in England will reopen, with the supermarket having installed 11,000 freestanding Perspex screens so customers can eat in neighbouring booths under social distancing restrictions.

Morrisons also said it would be employing hosts in each café to take customers to tables that will either be protected by the screens or distant from other customers, having hand sanitiser available at all times and also introducing signage to help customers navigate their way around the café while sticking to the government’s one-metre-plus rule.

“We intend to play our full part in feeding the nation and so our cafés will be safe and better value for money at this challenging time for customers,” said Ali Lyons, head of café at Morrisons. “We look forward to serving them again from this Saturday.”