North East bakery giant Greggs has confirmed plans to open its first drive-through restaurant in County Durham at the £300m mixed use development Integra 61.
Greggs opened its first drive-thru in Salford in 2017 and has been actively seeking out new sites across the UK.
Now the Newcastle food-on-the-go favourite is heading to the huge Integra 61 development near Durham – the largest logistics and manufacturing scheme in the region which is already home to Amazon’s new fulfilment centre.
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Developer Citrus Durham has secured a deal with Greggs to build the national retailer’s stand-alone drive-thru next to the Costa Coffee drive-thru which opened in December 2020.
Roisin Currie, retail and property director for Greggs, said: “Our new drive-thru site in County Durham will provide customers with a modern and convenient new place to experience all their Greggs favourites on-the-go.”
The 205 acre Integra 61 site has the potential to create around 4,000 jobs over the next 10 years and, alongside the industrial space it will also have some 300 new homes, a 70-bed hotel, family pub/restaurant, vehicle dealerships and a number of trade counter/retail units.
The scheme already has hundreds of people working at the site who could soon be queuing for Greggs coffees and chicken bakes – 1,000 employees alone currently work at Amazon.
Citrus Durham will start on the Greggs drive-thru this year, welcoming its first customers in early 2022.
David Cullingford, project lead for Integra 61 and Citrus Durham, said: “Since we opened Costa Coffee, the roadside element of Integra 61 is really taking shape and we are delighted to be welcoming Greggs to the scheme.
“With the high volume of Amazon workers, drive-thru customers and the homeowners all bringing life to Integra 61, we are excited to be discussing options with a number of parties for the remaining widespread opportunities from industrial units to trade counter units and showrooms in addition to a nursery and hotel.”
The drive-thru deal marks an important move into the county for Greggs, which is up against competition for a raft of restaurant and cafe chains for drive-thru sites, as a surge in demand during the pandemic has seen them become one of the most in-demand parts of the property market.
Retail property experts have said that the number of drive-thru sites has soared by 41% since 2015, with the pace of growth continuing since the pandemic.
Citrus Durham was represented by retained agents Avison Young and Colliers International and @Retail acted for Greggs.
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