The company that took over McDonald’s former restaurants in Russia plans to reopen them with a new logo based on a burger and fries on Sunday, when the country celebrates a patriotic national holiday.
The US fast-food chain sold its network of 850 restaurants in Russia to Alexander Govor, a McDonald’s Corp. franchisee, last month after closing them in March in response to President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
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His company plans to reopen the first 15 restaurants in and around Moscow under the new branding on the June 12 Russia Day holiday.
The logo features “two sticks of yellow fries and a yellow-orange burger,” the company’s press service said. “The green background of the logo symbolizes the quality of products and service that our guests are accustomed to.”
The company hasn’t yet disclosed the restaurant chain’s name, though its mobile application changed to “My Burger” on Friday.
McDonald’s employed about 62,000 people in Russia and the hasty removal of the golden arches became a symbolic moment in the exodus of foreign companies from the country in response to Putin’s war.
McDonald’s was one of the first Western brands to establish itself in Russia as the Soviet Union neared collapse at the end of the Cold War.
Govor has been a McDonald’s licensee since 2015 and has operated 25 restaurants in Siberia.
The US company said he agreed to retain employees for at least two years on equivalent terms in addition to funding existing liabilities to suppliers, landlords and utilities as part of the sale.
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