Three months after McDonald's suspended operations in Russia, hundreds of people streamed into its famous former outlet on Moscow's Pushkin Square as the restaurant reopened Sunday under a Russian owner and a new name.
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In March, McDonald's 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's decided to leave Russia altogether and sold its 850 restaurants to Alexander Govor, who held licenses for 25 franchises in Siberia. It was only a couple of hours before the Pushkin Square restaurant opened that the Russian chain's new name was announced: Vkusno-i Tochka (Tasty-period).
Fifteen of the former McDonald's branches were set to reopen in Moscow on Sunday. Oleg Paroev, the chain's 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's prior to its exit.
