Pret a Manger to open first UK drive-through cafe in May

The popular coffee chain will be giving hungry customers the chance to grab their favourite coffee or sandwich without even taking off their seatbelts when the drive-through opens in May.

The popular sandwich chain is set to open doors to drivers in Cheshire, after advertisements and banners were stopped at the former Starbucks cafe at Oakwood Gate services in Birchwood, on the outskirts of Warrington.

The new site, which is launching in partnership with major petrol station operator Motor Fuel Group, will be the chain’s first drive-through – but more have been confirmed to be in the pipeline.

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Pano Christou, CEO of the chain, hinted that this will be the first of many such drive-throughs as he claimed in September that they were eyeing up to 400 travel locations.

Pret already has 60 walk-in roadside locations across the UK, with 30 more on the way, including the new drive-through site.

Customers could see hundreds more of these travel-friendly locations popping up across the country, allowing it to compete with other big chains such as Starbucks and Costa.

Pret, which prides itself on serving ‘freshly made food’, opened its first shop in London back in 1986 and now has more than 700 sites in 21 countries.

They currently operate around 500 shops in the UK, with around half of those located in London.

The chain also boasts locations across the globe, including the US, Canada, Europe, Dubai and Singapore.