Staffing

Pret a Manger reopening select NYC stores

While many restaurants throughout the United States have opted to stay open for delivery and carry-out during COVID-19, Pret a Manger decided on March 17 to close all 86 locations. The chain, however, reopened four New York City locations this week with limited hours to allow for take-out and delivery.

Provided

April 29, 2020

While many restaurants throughout the United States have opted to stay open for delivery and carry-out during COVID-19, Pret a Manger decided on March 17 to close all 86 locations. The chain, however, reopened four New York City locations this week with limited hours to allow for take-out and delivery.

"We reached the difficult decision to furlough 98% of our U.S. employees and are working with our teams to ensure they receive the full benefits possible under the CARES Act legislation," Sarah Lee, president of Pret US, told FastCasual via email. "We will cover 100% of employee medical benefits through the end of May for those on our medical plan. Our goal is to bring as many people back to work as possible as we continue to open more locations."

Team members staffing the four reopened units volunteered to come back to work, and Pret is paying them 1.5 times their rates through May. The chain expects to continually open more shops on a bi-weekly basis as early as May, according to Lee, who also said she chose to start with four specific stores for a couple of reasons.

"Most importantly, the size of their kitchens and overall space for consumers to ensure that we can maintain our standards, while also ensuring all social distancing guidelines are met," Lee said. "Three of the locations are located within close proximity to hospitals as we know there is a need for frontline workers to have access to delicious, wholesome food. Additionally, the various locations that are opening will be able to serve the majority of Manhattan for delivery."

Our #nyc shops at Union Square (857 Bway), 116th St & Broadway & 70th St & York are opening for take-away starting today🎉. Pop in from 8:30am-3pm. Here are some of the measures we've put into place to protect our teams & customers. Thank you for your support and stay safe.❤️ pic.twitter.com/a9fzitLM8H

— Pret A Manger USA (@PretUsa) April 28, 2020

To ensure safety, Pret has implemented the following guidelines:

• No more than six customers inside the restaurant at any time, and tape will be applied outside to maintain a 6-foot distance while customers wait to enter.
• Shields will be placed on the till counter to avoid contamination.
• Hand sanitizer available for customer use.
• Customers have the option to pack their own bags.
• All cutlery, stirrers, napkins will be stored behind the counter and passed to customers on request.
• Only contactless payment will be accepted (Pret App, Apple Pay, or credit card).
• Only customers wearing face masks will be allowed to enter.

Getting into the grocery business
Pret, next week, is launching "Pret Groceries," an on-demand delivery/pick-up service through Seamless to allow New Yorkers to buy essentials without having to secure a set delivery window. Customers select their favorite Pret ingredients for delivery or take-out, including select whole produce, honey-wheat and gluten-free breads, granola, oats, quart-sized soups, organic coffee and tea as well as various milk products and packs of cookies to arrive within the hour.

While Pret physical locations have been temporarily closed, the Pret Foundation has been operating at full speed, with over 173,000 pounds of food donated to New Yorkers in need since March 17 through the brand's 20-year partnership with City Harvest and its partnership with Rescuing Leftover Cuisine, Lee said. Historically, Pret has donated over 5 million pounds of food to City Harvest, which visits their NYC locations every night to pick up their unsold food.