Rebranded Russian McDonald’s claims it sold 120,000 burgers in one day

The Russian company that bought 700 McDonald’s eateries from the fast food giant after it pulled out of Russia in May claimed it sold a record 120,000 burgers on its opening day, according to a report.

“We have never seen such daily turnover in the whole time McDonald’s has worked in Russia,” the new chain’s chief executive, Oleg Paroev, told Reuters.

Paroev, who was the former CEO of McDonald’s Russia, says he reopened 50 eateries in and around Moscow on June 12 and June 13 and that those restaurants smashed McDonald’s previous burger sales for a single day.

McDonald’s exited Russia over the country’s invasion of Ukraine, but it retains the right to buy back the business after 15 years.

Paroev said that the US company has made no mention of that option. McDonald’s sold its business to Alexander Govor, who became a local licensee in 2015 and already operated 25 locations in Siberia

The new chain has been renamed Vkusno & tochka – which loosely translates to ‘Tasty and That’s It.’ The decor of the restaurants and other traces of the US company have been changed while the new chain is not allowed to sell Big Macs or McFlurry’s as per trademark laws.

Some rogue franchisees in Russia, particularly in train stations and airports, are still using McDonald’s branding and logos much to Paroev’s consternation.

“It’s a mystery to me what products are sold there,” Paroev told Reuters of the restaurants in train stations and airports. “But I can say with certainty that it is absolutely not the same products or ingredients that were previously sold at McDonald’s.”

While the new chain still has access to the vast majority of ingredients previously used to make french fries, Big Macs and other signature menu items in Russia, the menu items will taste different as some ingredients come from vendors based outside of Russia and are affected by sanctions. 

What’s more, Vkusno & tochka is not allowed to sell Big Macs, which Paroev described as a “big loss.” 

“The fact it has now gone from the menu does not help us,” the restaurateur told Reuters. “Our guests will get used to the new name and understand that they are no longer at a ‘Mac’, but at a ‘tochka’.”