Tasty Name but No Big Mac: Russia Opens Rebranded McDonald’s Restaurants

A banner with the logo of a new restaurant chain, following McDonald's Corp company's decision to sell its restaurants in Russia to one of its local licensees that will rebrand them under a new name, in Moscow on June 12, 2022. Evgenia Novozhenina/Reuters

It might look and smell like McDonald’s, but now it’s Vkusno & tochka. The golden arches are gone, the Filet-O-Fish is simply a fish burger. The Big Mac has left Russia.

A new era for Russia’s fast-food and economic scene dawned on June 12, as McDonald’s restaurants flung open their doors in Moscow under new Russian ownership and with the new name, which translates as “Tasty and that’s it.”

The reopenings took place on Russia Day, a holiday celebrating national pride.

The fortunes of the chain, which McDonald’s sold when it exited the country over the conflict in Ukraine, could provide a test of how successfully Russia’s economy can become more self-sufficient and withstand Western sanctions.

Employees take part in preparations before the opening of a new restaurant, following McDonald's Corp.'s decision to sell its restaurants in Russia to one of its local licensees that will rebrand them under a new name, in Moscow on June 12, 2022. Evgenia Novozhenina/Reuters

On June 12, scores of people stood in line outside what was formerly McDonald’s flagship restaurant on Pushkin Square, in central Moscow. The outlet sported a new logo—a stylized burger with two fries—plus a slogan reading: “The name changes, love stays.”

The line outside was significantly shorter than the thousands of people who thronged to the original McDonald’s when it opened there in 1990 during the Soviet era.

Vkusno & tochka’s menu is also smaller and doesn’t offer the Big Mac and some other burgers and desserts, such as the McFlurry. A double cheeseburger was going for 129 roubles ($2.31) compared with roughly 160 under McDonald’s and a fish burger for 169 roubles, compared with about 190 previously.

The composition of the burgers has not changed, and the equipment from McDonald’s has remained, said Alexander Merkulov, quality manager at the new company.

Employees take part in preparations before the opening of a new restaurant, following McDonald's Corp.'s decision to sell its restaurants in Russia to one of its local licensees that will rebrand them under a new name, in Moscow, on June 12, 2022. Evgenia Novozhenina/Reuters

McDonald’s closed its Russian restaurants in March and said in mid-May that it had decided to leave the country altogether.

In a sign of the haste the new owners have had to rebrand in time for the launch, much of the packaging for fries and burgers was plain white, as were drink cups, while takeaway bags were plain brown. The old McDonald’s logos on packets of ketchup and other sauces were covered over with makeshift black markings.

Sergei, a 15-year-old customer, saw little difference, though.

“The taste has stayed the same,” he said as he munched on a chicken burger and fries. “The cola is different, but there really is no change to the burger.”

An employee stands in front of the new logo of the Russian version of a former McDonald's restaurant before the opening ceremony, in Moscow on June 12, 2022. Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images

Better Than a Big Mac?

The flagship Moscow restaurant is among 15 rebranded outlets that opened in and around the capital on June 12. Oleg Paroev, CEO of Vkusno & tochka, said the company was planning to reopen 200 restaurants in Russia by the end of June and all 850 by the end of the summer.

“For three months, we didn’t work,” said Ruzanna, manager of a Moscow branch that’s due to open in July. “Everyone is very pleased.”

The chain will keep its old McDonald’s interior but will expunge any references to its former name, said Paroev, who was appointed Russia McDonald’s CEO weeks before Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24.

“Our goal is that our guests do not notice a difference either in quality or ambience,” Paroev told a media conference in the restaurant. He said the chain would keep “affordable prices,” though added that prices would likely rise due to inflation, but not higher than its competitors.

Siberian businessman Alexander Govor, the new owner of the chain, told Reuters that it would look to offer something similar to McDonald’s flagship Big Mac.

“We don’t have the right to use some colors, we don’t have the right to use the golden arches, we don’t have the right to use any mention of McDonald’s,” he told Reuters.

“The Big Mac is the story of McDonald’s. We will definitely do something similar,” he said. “We will try to do something even better so that our visitors and guests like this dish.”

Govor said up to 7 billion roubles ($125.56 million) would be invested this year in the business, which employs more than 50,000 people.

“The corporation asked me to, first of all, keep the headcount, 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 was suspending its business in Russia.

Moments after the press conference finished, a man stood up in front of the cameras holding a sign that read “Bring back the Big Mac.” He was swiftly escorted out by restaurant staff.