Pret A Manger opening its doors in Shrewsbury

The shop, on Pride Hill, will feature three floors of internal seating for about 120 customers, a menu of salads, sandwiches, baguettes and breakfasts, and organic coffee and teas.

The shop was opening for a sneak peak today from 8am and the first 400 customers through the door were receiving a free breakfast.

This new shop, which will employ 14 people, also features ruins that are believed to have been a merchant’s townhouse as Pride Hill once formed part of the medieval town’s commercial centre.

The site’s original building was partially demolished in the late 1600s when cottages were built within its shell. In the 1900s, the remains of a wall were identified as being that of Bennett’s Hall and became known for a while as the ‘Old Mint’, as it was mistakenly identified as the site of Charles the First’s royal mint. The monument wall is visible on the upper floor of the shop.

As part of Pret’s commitment to help alleviate the pressures of homelessness in the UK, the new shop is on the look-out for local charities to donate unsold food to at the end of each day. Over the past year, Pret’s national scheme has distributed over three million food items to homeless charities, hostels and shelters across the UK.

Juanita Cracchiolo, Pret Foundation Trust project manager, said: “We’re currently looking for local charities to support through food donations each night and would love to be contacted by any organisations who feel they could benefit from collecting fresh, unsold food from us in the evenings.”

Interested charities can contact the Pret Foundation Trust via juanita.cracchiolo@pret.com