Quick and sour chicken please! England’s first-ever drive-thru Chinese takeaway opens – and owners hope it will be as big as McDonald’s
Britain’s first-ever drive-thru Chinese takeaway opens – which the owners hope will become ‘the McDonalds’ of Asian cuisine.
Wiyo – which stands for ‘what’s your order’ – caused a frenzy among foodies after announcing that its first restaurant would open every day starting next week.
The menu at the outlet, in Warrington, Cheshire, has several mouth-watering dishes, including house special chicken, shredded chilli steak and salt and pepper chicken.
And these options cost £7 when bought as part of a ‘box’ deal – with rice or chips – which customers can purchase from the comfort of their vehicle.
Co-owner Leon Freeman spent five years developing the concept with his business partners and said he hoped to make Chinese food “easier for the masses.”
England’s first-ever drive-thru Chinese takeaway opens in Warrington, Cheshire, which owners hope will become ‘the McDonalds’ of Asian cuisine
He said: “The goal was to make Chinese takeout faster and easier for the masses
‘Given how popular Chinese food is in England, we were confused as to why no one had developed the concept before.
The goal is to make Wiyo the McDonald’s of the Chinese fast food industry.
“We are already looking at franchises in Manchester, Liverpool, Essex and hope to make this national.”
Leon said he and co-owners Sally Gallagher and Dominic Freeman came up with the idea for the restaurant around a kitchen table in 2018.
They then developed their menu with a leading Chinese chef before finding the perfect location for their drive-thru business four years later.
Diners are given the choice of ordering three different meal options – with a single dish and drink for £7, two and a drink for £9, and three with a drink for £11.
They can also opt for the ‘salt + pepper sub’, priced at £11, where chicken is placed on a roll with crispy lettuce, onions and Wiyo’s house special soy mayonnaise.
The outlet also offers a range of side dishes, such as battered spring rolls and chicken nuggets, which cost between £3 and £4.
Wiyo – which stands for ‘what’s your order’ – sent foodies into a frenzy after it announced its first restaurant would open every day starting next week
Some lucky punters managed to get their hands on the restaurant’s food early when it opened its hatch in a “soft launch” last weekend.
And one diner, who traveled 35 miles from Wrexham, North Wales, to try his dishes, labeled it “delicious.”
She said: ‘It’s lovely, driven all the way from Wrexham. Very tasty food and super fast turnaround time from order to collection counter’.
Another added, “Mine was great” while a third added, “Mine was really good!”
Despite the rave reviews, Leon said his plan nearly “went off the rails” in January when his leg had to be amputated.
He said a cut he received in the shower became infected with sepsis and he was forced to run the burgeoning business from his hospital bed.
Wiyo will officially open on June 17 and will be open seven days a week from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
He said: ‘By the time I was admitted to hospital there was no option but to amputate my leg. I was in hospital for two months.
“We continued working from my hospital bed and four months after we came out of the hospital, we finally completed the project.”
The restaurant isn’t the first in the UK to develop a Chinese drive-thru concept, and that credit goes to Waka Asian Fusion, in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Wiyo will officially open on June 17 and will be open seven days a week from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.