People lineup to visit a newly opened fast food restaurant formerly known as McDonalds. Photo / AP
People lineup to visit a newly opened fast food restaurant formerly known as McDonalds. Photo / AP
The Golden Arches and the Big Macs have gone, and nobody is quite sure about the new name, but after a three month wait, Russians can now feast on the Kremlin's version of McDonald's.
Most of the visitors on Sunday insisted that it was delicious, as the new "Tasty and that's it" brand for former McDonald's restaurants in Russia promises.
"It was delicious and tasty, I think," Andrei, an entrepreneur, said with a grin after finishing his meal at the newly opened and freshly rebranded restaurant in Moscow's Pushkin Square.
Hundreds of hungry Muscovites had queued for hours before the restaurant opened at midday, eager for their first taste of the Kremlin's all-American burger.
Except that it turned out not to be on the menu.
"It's a shame. I will really miss the Big Mac because it was my favourite food," said Dmitry, an aviation student as he stood outside "Tasty and that's it".
Despite Kremlin bluster over import substitution, the Big Mac appears to have become a victim of Western sanctions.
A "Tasty and that's it" waitress told the Telegraph that it had to be taken off the menu because the company couldn't buy the essential lettuce.
And there were other signs of a hasty rebrand and relaunch. Much of the packaging for fries, burgers and drinks was plain white, while takeaway bags were brown. The old McDonald's logo on packets of ketchup and other sauces was covered over with black markings.
But, although nobody dining at the restaurant on Pushkin Square could stand at the counter, breathe in air thick with grease and fat and utter "Big Mac and fries, please", most were just happy to have McDonald's, or at least a Kremlin pastiche, back in their lives.
"The atmosphere is great. The new name is not very usual but it is nothing to worry about," said Sergei, 28.
Like other international companies operating in Russia, McDonald's said that Western sanctions imposed after the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine on February 24 made doing business in Russia impossible and toxic. It sold its business in May to Alexander Govor, a Kremlin-linked businessman.
Staff members look at a cash desk at a newly opened fast food restaurant in a former McDonald's outlet in Bolshaya Bronnaya Street in Moscow, Russia. Photo / AP
McDonald's has a special place in Russian, and Soviet, cultural history.
The opening of its Pushkin Square restaurant on January 31, 1990, was a major event. It was then the dying days of the Soviet Union, grey days filled with dreariness, queues and frustration.
Thousands of people, wrapped in fur coats, had queued for hours to get their first taste of American culture.
And although there wasn't the euphoria of the 1990 opening, the first "Tasty and that's it" meal was not a moment to be missed yesterday for hundreds of people.
Galina, a stylishly-dressed 55-year-old Muscovite, had been dining in the Pushkin Square McDonald's since it opened. She was happy to be back, even if she didn't think much of the new name.
"The old name is better. I don't understand this new one," she said, as she stood in line to order with her granddaughter. "I remember it opening in the 1990s. It was satisfying with good quality food. I am glad it has survived now."
The flagship Moscow restaurant is among 15 rebranded outlets opening around the capital, with 200 more restaurants set to open in Russia by the end of June and all 850 by the end of the summer.
Inside, the Pushkin Square restaurant has only been given a light redecoration. The staff have been given new uniforms but again, these are similar to the original McDonald's uniforms except they carry the new logo - a green circle overlaid with a red circle and two stripes, a stylised burger and fries.
Keen to stress continuity, "Tasty and that's it" markets itself under the slogan "The name changes but love stays".
Staff members work at a newly opened fast food restaurant in a former McDonald's outlet in Bolshaya Bronnaya Street in Moscow, Russia. Photo / AP
The Kremlin has banned dissent in Russia and any criticism of its "Special Operation" and has been pumping out propaganda to prop up its line that Putin had no choice but order an invasion of Ukraine to cleanse it of Nazis.
Part of the deal, according to the Kremlin, is that ordinary Russians have to suck up the deprivations that Western sanctions bring. This includes swapping out McDonald's for "Tasty and that's it", a message that appears to be getting through.
Mikhail Gurbo, 38, said that he had travelled from Samara, in central Russia, for the relaunch. He was wearing a baseball cap with the letter Z, a pro-war motif, and had a Russian flag painted on his cheeks.
McDonald's announced it would temporarily close all 847 of its restaurants in Russia in May in response to the war in Ukraine. Photo / AP
"I came here to see, to eat, to try. I liked everything," he said. "Everything is as good as I hoped it would be and I hope it will be even better. I can do without a Big Mac."
Not that everybody agrees. At the end of the official press conference, marking the opening of the Kremlin's rebranded McDonald's, an anti-Putin protester stood up with a banner that read: "Bring back the Big Mac".
