McDonald’s to reopen for NI customers next week - for ‘drive thru’ only

A spokesperson for McDonald’s said 28 of McDonald’s Northern Ireland restaurants will be opened by June 4 - but for Drive Thru and McDelivery only.

And to manage anticipated demand, locations of the reopening restaurants will be issued on the morning of each day.

“This is only possible following the hard work of the teams in our 44 UK and Ireland pilot restaurants,” he added.

“Over the last fortnight, our employees, franchisees and suppliers have worked tirelessly to implement new procedures to help enable safe working so that we can now serve McDonald’s favourites to all parts of the UK and Ireland.

“With fewer employees working in our kitchens and service areas, our teams will still need your patience and support as they continue to adjust to the new ways of working.

“Face coverings, gloves, Perspex screens and new safety and hygiene processes mean it will look different, it will take a little longer and as we’ve seen in the pilot restaurants, we expect demand will be high.

“Please bear with us, we will continue to put our people first – their safety is our priority”.

He added: “We are continuing to review these measures as we reopen, but for now these restrictions remain in place to enable our employees, customers and delivery partner couriers to remain safe.

To manage the anticipated demand, we will release the locations of the reopening restaurants on the morning of each day”.

Economy Minister Diane Dodds endorsed the move.

She said: “I welcome today’s announcement by McDonald’s on their plans to reopen 28 restaurants across Northern Ireland. McDonald’s contribution to the Northern Ireland economy cannot be underestimated. The company employs a large number of people across Northern Ireland and purchases a range of Northern Irish produce including milk and beef.

“As we move towards our economic recovery, I would commend McDonald’s and businesses throughout Northern Ireland in their ongoing work to enable and support the re-opening of the economy.”