I’m Lovin’ Nyet – Mcdonald’s rebrand lacks bite as sanctions force menu cuts
Russified fast food outlet can’t serve Big Macs owing to a lack of lettuce imports, but diners daren’t complain
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 try the Kremlin’s version of Mcdonald’s.
Most visitors yesterday insisted it was delicious, as the country rebranded former Mcdonald’s restaurants with the name “Tasty and That’s It”.
“It was delicious and tasty, I think,” Andrei, an entrepreneur, said at the outlet in Moscow’s Pushkin Square. “The new brand is curious, though.”
Hundreds of hungry Muscovites had queued for hours before the restaurant opened at midday, eager to try the Kremlin’s all-american burger – but it was not 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. “The Big Mac was a classic.”
Despite Kremlin bluster over import substitution, the Big Mac appears to have fallen victim to Western sanctions. A Tasty and That’s It waitress told The Daily Telegraph it had to be taken off the menu as the company couldn’t buy lettuce.
There were other signs of a hasty rebrand. Much of the packaging for fries, burgers and drinks was white, and takeaway bags were brown. The old logo on packets of sauces was covered with black markings.
But most were just happy to have Mcdonald’s, or at least a Kremlin pastiche, back in their lives. Sergei, 28, said: “The atmosphere is great. The new name is not very usual but it is nothing to worry about.”
Like other international firms in Russia, Mcdonald’s said Western sanctions imposed after the invasion of Ukraine made doing business in Russia impossible and toxic. It sold its business in May to Alexander Govor, a Kremlin-linked businessman.
Mcdonald’s has a special place in Russian, and Soviet, cultural history. The opening of its Pushkin Square restaurant on Jan 31 1990 was a major event. Thousands of people, wrapped in fur coats, had queued for hours to get their first taste of American culture.
Though there wasn’t the euphoria of the 1990 opening, the first Tasty and That’s It meal was a moment not to be missed for many.
Galina, 55, had been dining in the Pushkin Square Mcdonald’s since it opened. She was happy to be back, but said: “The old name is better. I don’t understand this new one,” she said, as she queued 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 restaurant is among 15 outlets opening in the capital, with all 850 set to open across Russia by the end of summer. Keen for continuity, Tasty and That’s It bears the slogan: “The name changes but love stays.”
The Kremlin has banned any criticism of its “special operation” and has been pumping out propaganda to prop up its line that Vladimir Putin had no choice but order an invasion of
‘It’s a shame. I will really miss the Big Mac because it was my favourite food’
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 sanctions bring – including swapping Mcdonald’s for Tasty and That’s It, a message that appears to be getting through.
Not that everybody agrees. At the official press conference marking its opening, an anti-putin protester stood up with a banner that read: “Bring back the Big Mac.”