Greggs to open in the evenings – and there will be a dinner time meal deal
GREGGS will test out late-night opening hours and introduce a dinner time meal deal in huge news for fans of the popular bakery chain.
The sausage roll and sandwich giants will choose select stores later this year to test out later closing hours that will see branches shut as late as 9pm.
The majority of Greggs across the UK are open for 12 hours a day, with usual opening times from 6am to 6pm apart from a few located in airports and train stations.
Newcastle Airport has a 24-hour Greggs, while the one in London Bridge Station closes at 11pm.
Greggs wouldn’t reveal which stores will be used to test out the later closing times but said the trial will start by October this year.
We’ve asked the company to confirm roughly what percentage of stores will be used to sample the new times and we’ll update this article when we know more.
Should the experiment prove successful, customers can expect to be able to get their hands on a sausage roll well into the evening at the majority of Greggs stores next year.
Along with the later closing hours trial, Greggs will also be testing out a dinner time meal deal.
There won’t be any new products being brought out especially for the deal but Greggs told us it will include one of their hot sandwiches or bakes, wedges and a drink.
Greggs wouldn’t confirm how much the meal deal will cost but said it is likely to differ from the current lunchtime price.
It will be trialled in all stores taking part in the later closing hours.
Customers can currently get a lunchtime meal deal for £3.15 including a sandwich, bake, pasta or salad and a drink.
There’s also a breakfast meal where you can grab a sausage, egg or bacon roll and a drink for £2.
What's on Greggs' regional menu?
DID you know Greggs has a secret menu?
Here's what you can find on offer in each region.
- Bloomers – Scotland
- Stotties – North East
- Corned Beef – West, North East, Leeds, Wales
- Meat & Potato Bake – Manchester
- Scotch Pie – Scotland
- Savoury Mince Pie – North East
- Apple Danish – South East, Scotland, West
- Bread Pudding – South
- Cheese Scone – North East
- Choc Flake Cake – Wales
- Custard Tart – West
- Devon Doughnut - Scotland
- Empire Biscuit – North East & Scotland
- French Fancy – Scotland
- Fruit Scone – North East & Scotland
- Jumbo Choc Ring Doughnut - Scotland
- London Cheesecake – South East
- Peach Melba – North East
- Pineapple Cake – Scotland
- Pink Iced Finger – North East
- Tottenham Cake – South East
- Vanilla Doughnut – Scotland
- Welsh Cake – Wales
Greggs also revealed plans to open 100 new shops by the end of the year as the company released sales figures for the year so far.
It means there will be around 2,100 Greggs across the UK after taking into account 23 store closures so far in 2019.
Partly due to the success of the vegan sausage roll, Greggs saw sales rise by 14.7 per cent to £546million in the first six months of the year.
It reported a pre-tax profit of £40.6million in the same timeframe, up from £25.7million in the same period last year.
Greggs is also looking to expand on its delivery option to Just East customers in addition to Uber Eats, as well as testing out self-service touch order screens in restaurants.
The bakery confirmed one store will be chosen to test out the first touch screen but said no decision had been made one which one.
Greggs CEO Roger Whiteside said: “Trials of extended late opening hours will follow in the autumn.
“The current growth in customer numbers is a great opportunity for us to demonstrate to new and returning customers how significantly we have transformed the Greggs shop estate, creating an attractive food-on-the-go experience with relevant products, extended trading hours and more seating.”
If you're a big fan of Greggs then you'll definitely want to check out their secret menu.
You can also check out where you can get Greggs delivered to your door with Just Eat.
But perhaps the standout moment of the year for Greggs so far was when it released its now-famous vegan sausage roll.