Greggs PLC (LSE:GRG) is poised to fight its corner after its Leicester Square branch was barred from staying open through the night last year.
During a three-day Magistrates' court hearing from May 16, Greggs will aim to overturn a decision made by Westminster Council last July preventing its central London bakery from staying open after 11.00pm.
Members of the council, alongside the Metropolitan Police, feared the store could become a “hotspot for late-night disturbances and anti-social behaviour”.
Some items on its menu require special permission from local authorities to be sold between 11.00pm and 5,00am, though this does not cover its sausage rolls and pastries which are baked elsewhere and sent to stores.
“Greggs have been trying to extend their licence in order to serve hot food until […] around 3.00am, because it’s really in line with what local peers and restaurants are doing,” a company spokesperson said.
“There are restaurants down the road that are open until 3.00am serving their customers hot food at all hours,” they added, including a Mcdonald's which shuts its doors at 2.45am.
Westminster Council responded that Greggs would have to “convince the court that their evidence provides exceptional reasons for allowing the premises” to stay open.
Several of Greggs’ other London branches were announced as having new later opening times in October, including in Westminster Underground Station and Kings Cross, though none of the revised operating hours passed 11.00pm.