The restaurant that launched McDonald’s in Russia in 1990, heralding the opening of Moscow after decades of Soviet rule, reopened on Sunday with a new name and logo in a powerful reminder of the turmoil caused by the conflict in Ukraine .
The US fast-food giant announced on May 16 that it would pull out of Russia in the wake of Ukraine’s invasion. On Sunday, dozens of people gathered outside “Vakusno i Tochka” (“Delicious. Full Stop”), the Russian incarnation of the fast-food restaurant, in Moscow’s Pushkin Square, just before the official opening at noon (0900 GMT).
“My whole family went to McDonald’s three times for farewell,” Elena, a programmer and mother of two, told AFP. “Now we’re going to a reunion lunch,” she smiled.
Inside, 31-year-old Oleg, one of the first customers to receive his order, said “Vakusno i tochka” was “tasty, beautiful and cheap”.
The restaurant, at the site where McDonald’s first opened its doors in January 1990 with long queues and great fanfare, is one of the first 15 to welcome customers. Another 50 restaurants are set to open on Monday, according to the new group’s general manager, Oleg Paroyev, then with the chain planning to reopen 50 to 100 a week across the country.
In place of the Golden Arches, there is a new logo – two stylized orange fries with a red dot on a green background. There are still double cheeseburgers on the menu, as well as a wide range of ice cream and desserts. But the “Mc” prefix no longer appears.
Read also: Russia close to capturing Ukraine’s Donbas region
“We had to remove some products from the menu because they refer directly to McDonald’s, like McFlurry and Big Mac,” Paroyev said. He said prices have risen “slightly” because of the heavy inflation that hit Russia after Western sanctions were imposed – but they remain “reasonable”.
As for packaging, it’s “neutral” — “no words, no letters” should remind McDonald’s Group customers, Paroyev said. McDonald’s Russian restaurants accounted for about nine percent of the US conglomerate’s business.
Three days after announcing the company’s exit in May, Russian businessman Alexander Gower, who was the chain’s licensee, bought the 850-restaurant operation. “I am ambitious and have plans to not only open 850 restaurants but develop new ones as well,” Gower said on Sunday.
McDonald’s said that under the terms of the sale, Gowers agreed to retain employees for at least two years and fund liabilities to suppliers, landlords and utilities. The transaction price was not disclosed, but in announcing its exit, McDonald’s said it planned to charge a one-time fee of $1.2 billion to $1.4 billion to write off the investment.
McDonald’s employed 62,000 employees in Russia. Licensed Gower has operated 25 restaurants in Siberia since 2015. He is a co-founder of NefteKhimService, a refining company and a board member of a firm that owns the Park Inn Hotel and private clinics in Siberia.