McDonald’s restaurants reopened in Moscow on Sunday under a new Russian property and a new name, Tasty and Dot, which translates as Tasty and That’s It.
Here’s what we know:
The famous Golden Arches were removed and replaced with a new M-shaped logo, consisting of two french fries and a hamburger patty on a green background.
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CEO Oleg Paroev said the new company had stuck to the new name – a top secret – just a day before the launch.
There has been some speculation on social media about how best to translate the new name into English. “Delicious and that’s it” was widely accepted, although another suggestion was: “Delicious.” The point. ‘
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Tasty and Dot opened its doors on Sunday in Pushkin Square at the first McDonald’s restaurant in Soviet Moscow in 1990, when it sold up to 30,000 burgers, but the queue in front of the restaurant was much smaller than three decades ago.
The chain will keep its old McDonald’s interior, but will remove every trace of its previous name.
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Initially, 15 rebranded restaurants will open in and around the capital and another 200 restaurants by the end of June and all 850 by the end of the summer, executives said on Sunday.
The new owner said up to 7 billion rubles ($ 126 million) would be invested this year in the business, which employs more than 50,000 people.
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The flagship of McDonald’s Big Mac and other burgers and desserts like McFlurry are missing, but other popular items are on the smaller menu, which are sold at slightly lower prices.
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The double cheeseburger cost 129 rubles ($ 2.31) compared to approximately 160 at McDonald’s and a fish burger for 169 rubles, compared to about 190 before.
Paroev said the chain would keep prices “affordable”. They are likely to rise due to inflation, but not higher than competitors, he said.
Most of the ingredients come from Russia, but some items were not immediately available due to logistical difficulties and because some suppliers left Russia. For example, he has to find a new soft drink supplier after Coca Cola stopped doing business there.
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Siberian businessman Alexander Govor took over the franchise operation through his company GiD LLC. He has been a McDonald’s licensee since 2015 and has helped the chain expand to remote Siberia, where it operates 25 restaurants.
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McDonald’s will have the option to buy its restaurants in Russia within 15 years, Russian authorities said.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, the price he paid was “much lower than the market price” and was a “symbolic” figure. The American chain has set a fee of 1.4 billion dollars for the deal. McDonald’s did not respond to a request for comment on the price.
Russia and Ukraine accounted for about 9% or $ 2 billion of McDonald’s revenue last year.
Former Russian McDonald’s boss Paroev runs the business. Until the takeover, he worked for McDonald’s for seven years, including as chief financial officer of Russian business for 6-1 / 2 years until November 2021, according to his LinkedIn account.
He was appointed CEO of McDonald’s in Russia in February, weeks before Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops to Ukraine on February 24.
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Govor will retain tens of thousands of employees in the chain for at least two years, the US company said.
(1 dollar = 55.7500 rubles)
Reuters Report Compiled by Josephine Mason Edited by Pravin Char and Francis Carey
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