The former McDonald’s restaurants bought by Sistema PBO from Russian oligarch Aleksandr Govor after the American chain left the country about a month ago as a sanction against Moscow are due to open their doors next Sunday.
The date was not chosen by chance, because June 12 is the Day of Russia, dedicated to the proclamation of the country’s independence. And the main opening party is planned for Pushkinskaya Square, where the first McDonald’s was opened in 1990, a symbol of the de-escalation going on at the time.
According to The Moscow Times, 15 restaurants with the new corporate identity are scheduled to open in the Russian capital this Sunday, with 200 more across the country by the end of June. The selected image is of a hamburger and two French fries on a green background.
The name of the new chain, which includes 840 restaurants owned by the North American chain, has yet to be chosen, TASS reports. It is only known that Alexander Govor, a Siberian who made his fortune in oil and coal, plans to expand the network to about 1,000 restaurants.
Under the terms of the acquisition, Alexander Govor pledged to retain about 62,000 McDonald’s employees for two years. The new owner should also leave the most symbolic menus, albeit with minor changes in the names. Due to sanctions, traditional soft drinks will have to be replaced by local brands.
