Customers shut out of shops and takeaways for several hours on Monday as the nation paid tribute to the longest-serving monarch in history queued to get back when they reopened at 5pm, minutes after Queen Elizabeth's service had ended. Shops, pubs, cafes and restaurants across the country closed on Monday as a mark of respect during the funeral for the Queen.
McDonald's closed all its 1,300 branches across the country. By 5pm cards could be seen queuing to get back in. At Woodfields Retail Park, Bury, as the clock struck 5pm, a dozen cars were queuing and a member of staff removed a series of orange traffic cones to allow customers to enter the car park, reports MEN.
The Queen's committal service in Windsor ended just before 5pm.
Asda shoppers joined long queues before as the shop reopened at 5pm. Other supermarkets, such as Sainsbury’s, previously announced that all its stores would be closed on the day of the funeral except for the convenience stores and petrol stations, which opened from 5pm to 10pm for essentials.
All Morrisons stores closed, with just their petrol stations reopening at 5pm, with only Tesco Express stores opening from 5pm apart from a select few in London, reports MEN.
Asda Eastlands Supercentre saw huge crowds of shoppers flood to the doors for 5pm. One customer who took the videos told the MEN that there was a 'queue to get into the car park' which was made worse by the McDonald's and petrol station on site.
"Honestly we got there at around 5.45pm and there was already a queue all the way around the store," they told the M.E.N. "From what we saw there was a few main tills on and then the self service tills.
"The shelves were already becoming bare, there was a queue just to get into the car park, but there is also a petrol station and a McDonald's there so that made things worse.
"It was dead busy and the shelves were already becoming bare. Luckily, we got in the self service queues and didn't have to wait that long. Some people were just leaving their trolleys because it was so busy."
Asda announced that the stores would be closing on Monday until 5pm, previously saying in a statement: “As a mark of respect for Her Majesty The Queen, all Asda stores will be closed on Monday, September 19, until 5pm, to allow our customers and colleagues to recognise the passing of our late monarch and commemorate her steadfast service to our nation.”
Announcing its plans to shut during the Queen's funeral, a McDonald's spokesperson said: "In honour of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and to enable everyone at McDonald's to pay their respects, our restaurants across the UK will be closed from midnight until 5pm on Monday, 19th September."
