HEALTHY fast food brand Leon has opened its first ever drive-thru restaurant after being taken over by Blackburn forecourt giant EG Group.

The company, which runs more than 70 restaurants, was bought by Blackburn-born EG Group founders Mohsin Issa and Zuber Issa in April this year in a deal reported to be worth about £100 million.

They hope that the new drive-thru, which opened in Gildersome, Leeds on Wednesday, will be the first of many, with more set to open in 2022.

In a joint statement, Mohsin and Zuber Issa said: "Opening a Leon drive-thru concept is a landmark moment for the brand, creating a fantastic opportunity to bring Leon’s naturally fast food to even more people.

"Our investment in Leon, together with our unparalleled operational experience of drive-thrus and access to high-quality roadside locations through our forecourts, creates new opportunities for the company and a strong platform to deliver significant growth."

Lancashire Telegraph:

The drive-thru has welcomed its first new customers

The new restaurant gave away a £1,000 voucher to its first dine-in customer and is offering free breakfast muffins and coffee throughout its opening week.

Now that Leon has secured Blackburn headquartered EG Group's financial backing it is likely that East Lancashire will soon be sampling new drive-thrus.

When the plans for the new Leeds restaurant were announced, the Issa brothers also said that the move would also be the first of “many, new strategic openings” Leon.

They say that the site will be the “first of many” drive-thru locations planned for the year as EG pushes forward with its plans to expand the brand across the UK.

Lancashire Telegraph:

There could be more drive-thrus like this coming to East Lancashire soon

In total, the company plans to open 20 new Leon sites across the UK from 2022, but has not yet confirmed where these will be located.

This will add to the already more than 700 food outlets that EG Group operates in the UK and Ireland including branches for Starbucks, KFC, Burger King, Greggs and Subway.

LEON managing director Nick Ayerst said: "We receive lots of emails and tweets every week asking us to open even more restaurants in the north, and we hope this opening signifies that there are many more to come."