It may look and smell like McDonald’s but now it’s Vkusno & Tochka. The golden arches are gone, the fish fillet is just a fish burger. The Big Mac has left Russia.
A new era for the Russian fast food and economic scene dawned on Sunday when McDonald’s restaurants opened their doors in Moscow under new Russian ownership and with the new name, which translates as “Yummy and that’s it”.
The rebranding of the stores, three decades after the American hamburger giant first opened in Moscow in a symbolic thaw between East and West, is another grim sign of a new world order.
The success of the revamped chain, which McDonald’s sold when it left the country over the conflict in Ukraine, could be a test of how successfully the Russian economy can become self-sufficient and withstand Western sanctions.
On Sunday, dozens of people lined up for what was once McDonald’s flagship restaurant in central Moscow. The outlet sported a new logo – a stylized burger with two fries – plus a slogan: “The name changes, the love remains”.
The line was considerably smaller than the thousands of people who gathered there for the original opening of McDonald’s in 1990 during the Soviet era.
Vkusno & Tochka’s menu was smaller and didn’t offer the Big Mac and some other burgers. A double cheeseburger went for 129 rubles ($2.31) compared to about 160 under McDonald’s and a fish burger for 169 rubles, compared to about 190 previously.
The composition of burgers has not changed and McDonald’s equipment has remained, said Alexander Merkulov, quality manager at the new company.
Sergei, a 15-year-old customer, saw little difference.
“The taste has stayed the same,” he said as he tucked into a chicken burger and fries. “The cola is different, but nothing really changes about the burger.”
Much difference?
The flagship restaurant in Moscow is one of 15 revamped stores that will initially open on Sundays in and around the capital. Oleg Paroev, CEO of Vkusno & Tochka, said the company planned to reopen 200 restaurants in Russia by the end of June and all 850 by the end of the summer.
The chain will keep its old McDonald’s interior but remove all references to its former name, said Paroev, who was named CEO of Russia McDonald’s weeks before Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops to Ukraine on Feb. 24.
“Our goal is that our guests don’t notice any difference in quality or atmosphere,” Paroev told a media conference at the restaurant. He said the chain would keep “affordable prices” but did not rule out slight increases in the near term.
McDonald’s closed its restaurants in Russia on March 14 and said it had decided to exit the market in mid-May.
“We haven’t worked for three months,” said Ruzanna, manager of a Moscow branch that will open in July. “Everyone is very satisfied.”
Alexander Govor, the chain’s new owner, said up to 7 billion rubles ($125.56 million) would be invested this year in the company, which employs 51,000 people.
“The company asked me to keep track of the workforce in the first place, to provide people with work. That’s what I’m going to do,” he added.
Govor said the company was looking for new suppliers of soft drinks such as Coca Cola, which has said it is ceasing its operations in Russia.
Moments after the press conference ended, a man stood up in front of the cameras holding a sign that read “Bring back the Big Mac.” He was quickly escorted by the restaurant staff.
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