McDonald’s agreed last month to sell its Russian business to Alexander Govor, the chain’s local Siberian franchisee, who has taken over a portfolio of about 850 restaurants. Under the name Vkusno & Tochka, or “Tasty – Full Stop”, the new owners are expected to open another 50 restaurants on Monday. By the end of June, they aim to reopen 200, Oleg Paroyev, CEO of Vkusno & Tochka, told Interfax at a news conference on Sunday. It’s not just the name that has changed, with the word “Mac” being removed from the new menu. Vkusno & Tochka intends to make changes to the menu, but to maintain the same taste for the Russians who first met McDonald’s when the band entered the country in 1990. After initially suspending operations in March, McDonald’s said in May that the invasion of Ukraine meant it was no longer “tolerable” to operate in Russia. The Chicago-based company spent about $ 55 million a month on rent and salaries for its 62,000 Russian employees before selling the businesses. Govor is required to keep his staff and current employment contracts intact for at least two years, according to Russian media reports. Govor said the revamped business is expected to expand to 1,000 restaurants over the next five to six years. A little-known businessman from Novokuznetsk, a metal and coal-producing city in western Siberia, Govor ran McDonald’s restaurants in western and eastern Siberia through GiD’s company, according to Russian media reports. After making his fortune in the coal business in the 2000s, he then diversified into food and agriculture, reports said. He founded Sibirskaya Milyona, a food producer with many cattle farms, dairies, a cold cuts factory and a restaurant. What was once the Russian website of the US fast food chain has removed all references to McDonald’s and is now being redirected to skoro-tut-budut-burgers.ru, which translates as “there will be burgers here soon.ru”. Paroyev, who was reportedly appointed head of McDonald’s Russian operations shortly before Vladimir Putin sent troops to Ukraine in late February, said the new owners intended to minimize any changes to customers. Vkusno & Tochka employee delivers food order © AFP via Getty Images However, the restaurant logo has changed to a small red burger with two tiled french fries. Although dozens of Western consumer brands have announced plans to leave Russia, McDonald’s decision to do so was one of the most symbolic as the invasion left Russia increasingly isolated from the West. When it was released in Moscow in January 1990, more than 30,000 people lined up to buy a burger. Its withdrawal from Russia was its first major purchase, leaving the US group with $ 1.4 billion in cash.
