Greggs is a great British success story

Whenever I’m walking down Cornmarket Street in Oxford – an otherwise unlovely thoroughfare – there is something about the spectacle of the enormous Greggs there that gladdens my soul. Compared to all the other overpriced, depressing places that sell lunchtime sandwiches in the area – I popped into Pret the other day and was astonished to be charged a fiver for some measly dried mango and a suspicious can of drink – Greggs is dedicated to giving its customers value for money that isn’t just welcome, but, in these straitened times, feels positively generous.

The food is good, too. The steak bake is, of course, a thing of legend (improved by the surreptitious addition of HP sauce) but the sandwiches, sausage rolls and iced buns are all very fine. You’re not expecting gourmet cuisine, but unpretentious sustenance, served with a smile, and it’s hard to think of many places in the country that have cracked it better.