He was the first person to operate a Greggs drive-thru, at his Irlam forecourt in Greater Manchester in 2017. Today, Ken Kay still regards the brand, alongside Subway, as key to the success of his petrol station empire, and says it is a key ingredient in his latest knockdown rebuild.
The Kay Group’s Grimshaw Park, Blackburn site, which is six months into its regeneration, did not have any foodservice. So the wish to introduce a Greggs and Subway, alongside modern valeting and electric vehicle charging, was the catalyst for its redevelopment, says Ken.
Fourteen of Ken’s 24 forecourts have a Greggs, and five of these also have a Subway. He says the two brands complement one another when at the same site – with Greggs offering a fast service, and Subway a bespoke, sometimes healthier option.
Having built and owned the Grimshaw Park site for just short of 30 years, Ken says that it has a special place in his heart. This is just as well, he concedes, as the project has proved tricky and not progressed further than groundwork.
“Usually, we complete projects from scratch in five months, but this site, on a roundabout and a hill, has been incredibly complex,” said Ken, who hopes to complete the work by next April or May. “We’ve had to dig extremely deep to build in concrete supports for two major roads.
“But a site in your home town, 400 yards away from where you were born, lived and had your first job, is worth ten times that of another,” he added. “When we originally built it from scratch it was the bee’s knees. It had a clock tower on top which was the talk of the town, but recently it became unfit for purpose.”
The plan is for a Shell forecourt and Londis shop, with four AIR-serv jet washes, and four high voltage EV chargepoints from Shell, as well as space to accommodate the business’s 25-strong head office team.
The Grimshaw Park site will be the third to have electric vehicle charging for The Kay Group, following its Winsford site which was installed with two BP Pulse chargepoints eight months ago, and four BP Pulse chargepoints currently being introduced at its Rockingham forecourt. Its other 10 newer out of town sites are likely to follow.
The Kay Group has a 25th new to industry location in the pipeline for which it has been trying to get planning permission for the past eight years. If all goes as hoped this trunk road forecourt could open early next year, complete with a Greggs and a Subway.
Currently only four of The Kay Group sites have neither a Greggs or Subway because they do not have the space. Two properties, including the original Irlam forecourt, have a Greggs drive-thru and four a Costa drive-thru.
Ken hopes to introduce Greggs drive-thru operations to his Subway-only sites.
Drive-thrus make business sense, believes Ken. “Foodservice undoubtedly works well with other parts of the business, whether that is filling up with petrol before going through the drive-thru, or a mum and her kids popping in to get a Greggs while the dad jet washes the car,” he said. “The more foodservice you have helps the other facilities. Drive-thrus remain as relevant as they did when I first introduced the Greggs drive-thru seven years ago.”
