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England’s first ever drive-thru Chinese takeaway is set to open this week. And its owners hope it becomes the “McDonalds of Asian cuisine” with plans to rapidly expand to new sites as soon as possible.
Wiyo, which stands for ‘what is your order’ has announced that its first restaurant will open in Warrington, Liverpool this week. Opening on Saturday 17 June, Wiyo will be open seven days per week between 5-9pm, and in an England first, customers will be able to drive to the venue and purchase hot food from the comfort of their vehicles.
The menu at its outlet will include classic dishes such as ‘house special chicken’, ‘shredded chilli beef’ and ‘salt and pepper chicken’ which customers can get for £7 when they are bought as part of a ‘box’ deal - with either rice or chips. Leon Freeman, co-owner of Wiyo, spent five years developing the concept with his business partners and hopes to make Chinese food “more convenient for the masses”.
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He said: “Considering how popular Chinese food is in England, we were confused why no one had developed the concept before now. The goal is to make Wiyo the McDonald’s of the Chinese fast food industry. We’re already looking at franchises in Manchester, Liverpool, Essex and hope to make this national.”
Leon said he and his co-owner Sally Gallagher and Dominic Freeman had come 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 site for their drive-thru business four years later.
Diners get a choice of ordering three different meal options - with a single dish and drink costing £7, two and a drink priced at £9, and three with a drink going for £11. They can also opt for the ‘salt + pepper sub’, priced at £11, where chicken is layered on a roll with crispy lettuce, onions and Wiyo’s house special soy mayonnaise.
(Image: Wiyo / SWNS)
The venue will also offer a number of side dishes, such as battered spring rolls and chicken nuggets, costing around £3 -£4. And some lucky fans even managed to get their hands on the food early, when Wiyo opened last weekend for a soft launch.
One diner, who travelled 35 miles from Wrexham, North Wales, to try it out branded it “delicious”. She said: “It’s delicious, drove all the way from Wrexham. Very tasty food and super-fast turnaround from order to pick up window”. Another added: “Mine was amazing” while a third said: “Mine was really good!”
Despite the rave reviews, Leon said his plan was almost “derailed” in January when he needed to have his leg amputated. He said a cut, which he picked up in the shower, became infected with sepsis and he was forced to run the burgeoning business from his hospital bed.
He said: “By the time I was hospitalised there was no other option but to amputate my leg. I was in the hospital for two months. We continued working from my hospital bed and four months after coming out of hospital we have finally completed the project.”
The restaurant isn’t the first in the UK to develop a Chinese drive-thru concept, with those honours going to Waka Asian Fusion, in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Wiyo will officially open on June 17, and from then will be open seven days per week between 5-9pm.
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This data comes from MediaIntel.Asia's Media Intelligence and Media Monitoring Platform.