Bunnings is bringing back its famous sausage sizzles to stores around the country, some as early as this weekend.
A Bunnings' sanga could very well be the quintessential Aussie lunch snack and for those in Northern Territory and Tasmania, the barbecues will fire up from this weekend (July 11-12).
Bunnings hopes to have a snag-filled slice back in the hand of Aussies countrywide by the end of July.
Except Victoria unfortunately, where due to the rapid spread of coronavirus in the state, authorities have deemed it unsafe to have people crowding around waiting for a sanga and sauce.
Bunnings chief operating officer, Deb Poole, said the Australian household hardware chain was excited to be bringing the sausage sizzle back in places where restrictions had eased.
"We know our customers have missed being able to show their support for local community groups by stopping by the sausage sizzle and we know the important fundraising role they play for thousands of community groups across Australia," she said.
"We've spent the past few months consulting with community groups, governments and health authorities on how we can bring back our sausage sizzles safely for our customers and community groups.
"The return will start off at selected stores in Tasmania and the Northern Territory this weekend where we will trial a new layout that promotes physical distancing and includes increased personal hygiene processes, above and beyond the normal processes.
"We are planning to have them back up and running in Queensland, NSW, the ACT, South Australia and WA towards the end of this month pending the latest government restrictions in each location."
Changes made to enhance customer and community safety:
- Separate ordering and pick-up points to allow for 1.5metres' physical distancing
- Increased cleaning processes and hygiene requirements
- Increased signage to guide customers
- Additional team members rostered to encourage physical distancing
Bunnings suspended community sausage sizzles in March due to the COVID-19 situation. For community groups that were booked over the following month, the store donated $500 gift cards to help those local organisations affected by the suspension.
Community groups who had sausage sizzles pre-booked during the lockdown are being prioritised for the restart with sporting clubs, Rotary, the Lions Club and youth groups booked to run events this weekend.
The first community sausage sizzle was run 26 years ago at Bunnings Sunshine in Melbourne, since then more than 40,000 sausage sizzles are run by local community groups each year.
