Wednesday, Apr 29, 2020
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Local news for local people Mid Canterbury’s only locally-owned daily newspaper
A delayed remembrance FULL STORY
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Cezarne Rogers, Allan Johnstone, Merv Brenton and Neil Brown at a makeshift wreath-laying ceremony yesterday.
PHOTO MATT MARKHAM 280420-MM-001
FAST-FOOD FRENZY
By Jaime Pitt-MacKay Jaime.p@theguardian.co.nz
Those craving their fast-food fix throughout lockdown were able to have those cravings satisfied when stores re-opened under Alert Level 3 on Tuesday. Fast-food outlets were able to re-open for contactless service or delivery once the country moved to Level 3, and many hungry punters were keen for someone else to do the cooking after more
than four weeks in lockdown. There was a queue of hungry customers waiting in their cars at 5am at the Ashburton McDonald’s, but for franchisee Dave Whalley being able to have his team of around 80 staff back to work and their jobs secure was the most important part of being back open on Tuesday. “We’ve got 80-odd people employed here and they are all back to work and everyone is really
happy and the morale is great,” he said. Whalley said they had not been forced to lay off any staff, and that having the store back operating ensured their job security. Customers were queued at the store when it re-opened at 5am, with a steady flow of customers throughout the day with an increase around lunchtime. “It’s been a massive effort from our suppliers to get everything up
and going again,” he said. “We are running a limited menu at the moment but over the next few days and weeks we should be able to expand it back to normal.” For Whalley, who has been involved with McDonald’s for more than 30 years, it was a strange experience shutting down the restaurant for more than four weeks, only popping in to do security checks. KFC Ashburton was another
fast-food establishment to reopen its drive-through on Tuesday, and after a few early teething issues, customers were flowing through quickly, franchise manager Brad Haskett said. “It’s been nice and steady so far,” he said.
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