Costa Coffee to reopen 97 more branches for drive-thru and takeaway

COSTA Coffee is reopening another 97 branches today for either drive-thru or takeaway orders.

This means the coffee chain will have a total of 316 stores open for customers.

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Costa has been slowly reopening branches following the coronavirus pandemic.

The coffee retailer has been reopening stores in phases - including 75 shops last week, and 70 outlets in the four weeks previous.

At the start of the health crisis, the only Costa outlets that remained opened were ones in hospitals.

Of the stores reopening today, May 28, Costa says 58 are drive-thru and 39 are for takeaway orders.

At the takeaway outlets, customers are allowed to enter the store to order and collect a coffee to takeaway.

However, customers are being asked to pay with cashless or contactless payment methods.

Meanwhile, some Costa stores that have previously reopened are available for delivery orders.

Customers aren't allowed inside these shops - instead, they have to order coffees to their home via Uber Eats.

There is no minimum delivery spend but you'll need to pay a delivery fee of £3.50 per order.

Newly reopened Costa stores will be running a limited menu with only drinks from its "core" range available.

When The Sun checked on Uber Eats this morning, the reduced menu included lattes, cappuccinos, teas, frostinos and coolers.

Costa is also serving cakes and hot food, including toasties and sandwiches.

To help keep staff safe, workers are provided with protective equipment, including masks, and have to follow strict social distancing guidelines.

Staff will also be expected to wash their hands and work surfaces every 30 minutes as a minimum.

We've asked Costa for a full list of reopened stores and we'll update this story when we hear back.

In the meantime, you can use the coffee chain's  to find your nearest open branch.

Costa Coffee is one of many food and drink chains that have recently reopened, including McDonald's, KFC and Burger King.

We've rounded up the shops and food chains that have reopened including B&Q and Ikea.