UNHAPPY MEAL
MCDONALD’S has been accused of “hating the north” by furious customers after it reopened 39 restaurants for drive-thrus, with the majority of these in the south of England.
The fast food chain today revealed which 39 drive-thru locations have reopened following the coronavirus shutdown.
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This includes 33 in the south of England - with six in Peterborough, four in Ipswich, four in Luton and three in Chelmsford.
The remainder of the reopened drive-thrus include six in Dublin, Ireland.
But the news wasn’t well received by all McDonald's fans, with some customers disappointed by the lack of locations in the north of Britain.
One annoyed customer tweeted: "Why does McDonald's hate the north?"
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Another said: "You do realise there's people north of Peterborough?"
A third posted: "Couldn't have opened one a bit more north east could ya?"
Another tweeted: "Seriously? Still nothing in the north? Are we non-existent?"
The fast food chain sparked similar outrage last week when it reopened 15 restaurants for delivery orders via Uber Eats - with these locations also in the south of England.
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Which McDonald's are open for drive-thru and delivery?
MCDONALD'S has revealed a full list of restaurants that are open for drive-thru, delivery, or both.
Drive-thru only
- Ipswich (Ranelagh Road)
- Ipswich (Ravenswood)
- Ipswich (Whitehouse)
- Chelmsford (Regiment Business Park)
- Travellers Friend (Hounslow)
- Oldfields Road (Sutton)
- North Cheam (Sutton)
- Strood (Commercial Road)
- Medway Valley Park (Rochester)
- Medway City Estate (Rochester)
- Bushey (Hertfordshire)
- Staines (Two Rivers Retail Park)
- Staines (London Road)
- Peterborough (Boongate)
- Peterborough (Glinton)
- Peterborough (Hampton)
- Peterborough (Morrisons)
- Peterborough (Bourges Boulevard)
- Peterborough (Eye Green)
- Bobbing (Sheppey Way)
- Dunstable (Luton Road)
- Luton Retail Park (Gipsy Lane)
- Watford (Garston)
Delivery and drive-thru
- Chelmsford (Riverside)
- Chelmsford (Westway)
- Ipswich (Cardinal Park)
- Boreham Interchange
- Luton (Leagrave)
- Luton (Chaul End Lane)
- Watford (Hertfordshire Arms)
- Beechings Way
- Sittingbourne
- Gillingham (Bowaters)
Delivery only
- Tooting
- Dalston
- Welling
- Harrow
- Luton (George Street)
Dublin drive-thru only
- Nutgrove
- Kylemore Road
- East Wall
- Artaine
- Malahide Road
- Tallaght
McDonald's explained to The Sun that the reason why all the locations are in the south is because of distribution and food safety.
A spokesperson said: "We're taking our time to reopen in a way helps everyone stay safe including our suppliers.
"This means the first 44 pilot restaurants are close to one of our distribution centres as we prepare our supply chain for reopening.
"We are working hard to expand our restaurant reopenings to all drive-thrus across the UK and Ireland by early June."
In England, there are now 23 branches open just for drive-thru orders, five for delivery orders only via Uber Eats, and 10 sites that are offering both.
It comes after the fast food chain reopened its first 15 restaurants for delivery only last week.
Cars were seen queuing to place their orders at reopened McDonald's drive-thrus today after they reopened at 11am.
McDonald's says it's expecting a high number of customers at its reopened sites and says it could even close down drive-thrus if queues get out of control.
The company has previously explained why deliveries and drive-thru orders may take longer than usual.
The fast food chain is currently operating with a limited menu due to having less staff in kitchen areas at one time.
This still includes fan favourites such as Big Macs and McNuggets - but some fans were left gutted when they discovered there are no breakfast options.
Again, this is down to fewer staff and also restaurants operating under reduced hours of 11am until 10pm.
Previously, McDonald's breakfast would be served until 11am.
What items are included on the reduced McDonald's menu?
MCDONALD'S is currently running a reduced menu.
Here's what's being sold:
Main Menu:
- Cheeseburger
- Hamburger
- Double Cheeseburger
- Big Mac
- Quarter Pounder with Cheese
- McChicken Sandwich
- Filet-O-Fish
- Chicken McNuggets
- Chicken Selects
- Vegetable Deluxe
- Veggie Dippes
Sides & Desserts:
- Fries
- Mozzarella Dippers
- Core McFlurry (Oreo, Maltesers, Smarties)
- Fruit Bag
Drinks:
- Coke
- Diet Coke
- Coke Zero
- Fanta
- Sprite
- Oasis
- Black Coffee
- White Coffee
- Latte
- Cappuccino
- Espresso
- Flat White
- Tea
- Orange Juice
- Fruit Shoot
- Water
- Happy Meal Water
Happy Meal Variants:
- Happy Meal - Hamburger
- Happy Meal - Cheeseburger
- Happy Meal - Four Nuggets
- Happy Meal - Veggie Dippers
McDonald's has also introduced a spending limit of £25 on Uber Eats and at drive-thrus to try and control the high number of orders.
This spending limit doesn't include the delivery fee when ordering from Uber Eats.
Crucially, dining areas will remain closed to the public.
But if you're planning on visiting a drive-thru, you can now pre-order your food for collection via the My McDonald's app.
We've rounded up what safety measure are in place here.
The Sun had previously seen a leaked memo sent to McDonald's employees, which said the fast food chain had been testing social distancing measures and personal protective equipment.
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McDonald's temporarily shut all 1,350 restaurants on March 23.
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Other fast food chains that have restarted their delivery services include KFC, Burger King and Five Guys.
Meanwhile, Wagamama, Costa Coffee and Pret a Manger are also serving customers again.