2,000 UK pubs to reopen as click-and-collect supermarkets during coronavirus lockdown Greene King, Admiral Taverns, and St Austell will allow tenants and leaseholders to open grocery stores

More than 2,000 pubs across the UK have subscribed to a national scheme that will see premises turned into grocers selling essential items such as eggs, bread, and milk.

Pub groups Greene King, Admiral Taverns, and St Austell, which together have more than 2,000 premises, have agreed to allow tenants to run food shops under the new “My Pub Shop” initiative.

The idea comes from online trading platform StarStock, which has also partnered with Brakes food service, Coca Cola UK, and industry supporter Use Your Local to build the network during the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Kevin Georgel, chief executive at St Austell Brewery, said to i: “We are delighted to support the mypubshop.com initiative. Not only does it provide our tenants with a great technology platform to drive sales during the period our pubs are closed – it also supports them in their ongoing mission to serve their local communities.”

Click-and-collect

Brakes, one of the country’s biggest food wholesalers, supplies more than 15,000 pubs across the country and said it would be able to deliver food to additional participants if they also sign up.

The company will be offering venues a food shop “starter kit” – consisting of basic food and drink products. A two per cent transaction fee will cover operational costs, an announcement said, though the venture is being run as a non-profit, with profits donated to the NHS.

Admiral Taverns chief executive Chris Jowsey said: “We are doing everything we can to support our pub operators through this extremely challenging period and this was a no-brainer.”

Publicans given the tools

Greene King partnership managing director Wayne Shurvinton added: “We have been working around the clock to offer support to our partners and teaming up with StarStock gives our publicans the tools to step forward to help their communities.”

The scheme will also allow pubs to set up websites with basic details of their new grocery enterprise and customers will be asked to order food online and collect goods in pubs.

StarStock founder Sam Ulph said the aim is to keep communities connected, while also providing a revenue stream for premises shut down during the coronavirus pandemic. He said it will also alleviate pressure on existing grocery shops and supermarkets.