As lockdown restrictions ease throughout the UK, doors to fast food restaurants will soon open, albeit socially distanced. In anticipation of the reopens and following scenes seen across social media of queues at fast food drive-thrus, we have conducted some research.
We have taken population data by postcode in the UK, e.g. NG1, NG2, NG3 etc and have cross-referenced this with the fast food restaurants in those areas. This assumes that many of the people in those locations will rush to get their fast food fix, just as they have with drive-thrus.
If this is the case, we could see some colossal queues! So we have broken the research down by restaurant, so all of the Steak Bake, Big Mac and Popcorn Chicken lovers can anticipate the queues at their closest locations.
The top 20 locations at risk of huge queues for each restaurant can be found below, find out where your local ranks:
Nutritional therapist, Claudia le Feuvre explained why we may rush to buy fast food when the lockdown restrictions are lifted:
“Fast foods are often formulated to achieve the ‘bliss point’, something we’ll be familiar with from having eaten this type of food before. This is the optimal blend of salt, sugar and fat which triggers the brain to produce feel-good endorphins and dopamine, a neurotransmitter that will keep us coming back for more, especially when the doors reopen.”
Patrick Tonks, creative director at Great Bean Bags which conducted the research, adds:
“We believe that balance is key in life, while we of course want people to enjoy comfort at home and to relax on our bean bag products with their favourite food, we have also conducted a lot of work and research to highlight where people can make positive lifestyle changes.
“It’s interesting to see the data here where the queues are most expected and hopefully it will encourage people not to rush for fast food, maybe opt for a healthier alternative knowing the wait they’ll have if they give in to temptation!”
To see the full top 20 for each location, you can view the data here.