鈥楾he name changes, love remains,鈥� claims Russia鈥檚 new McDonald鈥檚
| Moscow
In March, McDonald鈥檚 halted operations of its company-run restaurants in Russia. Although some run by franchisees stayed open, the action by the multinational fast-food chain was among the most visible responses by foreign companies to Russia sending troops into Ukraine.
Two months later, McDonald鈥檚 decided to leave Russia altogether and sold its 850 restaurants to Alexander Govor, who held licenses for 25 franchises in Siberia.
Mr. Govor is moving fast to reopen the shuttered outlets. It wasn鈥檛 until a couple of hours before the Pushkin Square restaurant opened that the Russian chain鈥檚 new name was announced: Vkusno-i Tochka (meaning 鈥淭asty, period鈥�).
The logo is different, but still evokes the golden arches: a circle and two yellow oblongs 鈥� representing a beef patty and French fries 鈥� configured into a stylized M.
Fifteen of the former McDonald鈥檚 were set to reopen in Moscow on Sunday. Oleg Paroev, the chain鈥檚 general director, said he aims to have 200 open by the end of the month.
As part of the sales deal, whose monetary terms were not announced, the new operation agreed to retain all 62,000 people employed by McDonald鈥檚 prior to its exit.
The crowd at the Pushkin Square outlet, however sizable and lively, was no match for the turnout for the McDonald鈥檚 opening in 1990, when people waited in line for hours. At that time, McDonald鈥檚 had psychological and political resonance beyond hamburgers.
The opening was the first taste most Muscovites had of Western consumerism and service efficiency, as well as a sign the Soviet Union was slowly dropping its guard and allowing foreign culture into the country.
The Monitor鈥檚 Linda Feldmann was in Moscow when the first McDonald鈥檚 opened there:
They called it 鈥渇ive minutes in the West鈥� 鈥� a meal at McDonald鈥檚. In 1990, that dream became a reality for countless Russians, when the nation鈥檚 first McDonald鈥檚 opened in Moscow鈥檚 Pushkin Square. The line snaked for blocks, and by the end of Day One, 30,000 people had been served. ...聽The food itself was a hit, tastier than the U.S. version, it seemed. Russians said, of course their McDonald鈥檚 was better, because their ingredients were locally sourced and not 鈥渇ull of chemicals鈥� 鈥� the party line on American food.聽But that day wasn鈥檛 even about the food. It was about being part of the wider world, about the lowering of the Iron Curtain that would soon disappear.
On Sunday, that earlier symbolism echoed through the rebranded fast-food鈥檚 reopening with a note of nostalgia.
鈥淭his is a historic place 鈥� the flagship of McDonald鈥檚,鈥� Mr. Govor told reporters. 鈥淚鈥檓 sure it will be the flagship for us.鈥�
Inside, the restaurant resembled a fraternal twin of its former self. There were touchscreens for placing orders and counter workers wearing familiar polo-shirt uniforms.
鈥淲e鈥檙e sure that our customers won鈥檛 notice a difference between us,鈥� Mr. Paroev said. However, he said, the company will seek a new soft drinks supplier as it has limited stocks of Coca-Cola.
The story was reported by The Associated Press.
