There’s good news today for fans of South Wales bakery Jenkins.
The firm is planning a phased re-opening of shops starting next week.
The first four shops to be re-opened will be –

Cross Hands

Gowerton

The Avenue in Llanelli

Thomas Street in Llanelli

The shops will re-open from Tuesday, June 9,.
From that date, they will trade from Monday to Saturday between 08:30 and 14:00.
“First and foremost, we want to thank our customers, suppliers and staff for their continued support, loyalty and patience,” said general manager Richard Mynott.
“It seems like a long time ago now, but we took the decision to close back on Friday, March 27, because we felt it was the correct thing to do for our customers and staff during the coronavirus pandemic.
“At the heart of that difficult decision was a sincere desire to make sure everyone remained safe and well.
“Now that lockdown restrictions are starting to lift, we will start a cautious approach to re-opening.
“A great deal of work has gone into our re-opening plan and we have made sure that all the risk assessment procedures, including staff surveys, are in place and that we have the proper control measures in place to ensure everyone has confidence in the new way of working and trading.”
Mr Mynott added: “We will not be able to offer the full range of products and customers will notice a new way of shopping. At the heart of everything we do will be the safety of our customers and staff.
“We are planning a phased approach to re-opening in order to gain an understanding of how the market-place has changed and to trial the various control measures we have had to implement.
“Given that we will be initially only opening four shops, not all staff will be returning to work, with the vast majority of the workforce remaining on furlough for the present time.
“As we increase our knowledge and understanding of the “new normal” for our business we will be able to make further decisions as to which other shops to open and when.”
Mr Mynott said he was grateful for the continued support, loyalty and patience of staff.
He added: “Staff will find a different work environment to the one they left in March.
“We have always prided ourselves on the highest standards of hygiene, quality control, customer service and staff safety. There will be new rules and disciplines we will have to adhere to during the course of business. They are there for the benefit and safety of our fantastic workforce, our customers and our suppliers and contractors.”
The Jenkins Bakery team will begin taking orders for celebration cakes from next week.