Tuesday 19 May 2020 5:02 pm | Updated: Tuesday 19 May 2020 5:04 pm

Pizza Express to reopen 13 London restaurants for delivery

Casual dining chain Pizza Express will reopen 13 of its London sites for delivery from next week.

The Italian restaurant chain is preparing to reopen sites across the capital including in Balham, Fulham and Notting Hill where it has typically seen high customer demand.

Pizza Express will launch with a “slightly edited” menu and with new safety measures in place.

“In recent weeks, naturally our number one priority has been to protect the safety and wellbeing of our teams and customers,” Pizza Express managing director Zoe Bowley said.

“With this in mind we opted to take some extra time to ensure our phased re-opening happens in a safe and responsible way in line with Government advice,” Pizza Express

“Fortunately our ‘At Home’ supermarket range has been proving more popular than ever for superfans craving the unmistakable taste of PizzaExpress, whilst our pizzerias have been closed.

“However, we’re now delighted to confirm the start of a phased delivery only trial across selected London pizzerias from Thursday, 28 May. Once this trial has been safely completed, we’ll consider our plans for further roll out, so do keep an eye on our website and social feeds for the latest news on this.”

Pizza Express said the delivery trial will pave the way for full reopening plans in the future, according to industry newsletter Propel, which first reported the news.

Many fast food chains have been reopening stores for delivery and takeaway services, particularly since the government eased lockdown restrictions last week.

Last week McDonald’s outlined plans to reopen all of its drive-thru branches by the end of June, after opening 15 branches for delivery earlier this month.

US coffee giant Starbucks also revealed that drive-thru and takeaway services would be rolled out across the UK.

On Wednesday Marks & Spencer said 49 of its cafes would be reopening this week following successful social distancing trials in five stores.