The opening of a new fast food chain allowed to save 150 thousand jobs.
The flagship restaurant of the new fast food chain, which replaced the McDonald’s that left Russia, has opened on Pushkin Square. On the eve of the opening, Sergei Sobyanin visited the restaurant and congratulated its staff.
“We were worried about you, for the fate of the employees, for those who supplied you with products — a huge number of people, tens of thousands. And of course, these are hundreds of thousands of your visitors who love your products. It is considered that it is American, in fact, everything is ours, Russian. It remains to change the brand, the signboard — and everything will be the same. Thank you so much for being patient and keeping the team together — this is very important,” he said.
According to the Mayor of Moscow, any delay would mean that the network might not open. “But in fact, we have no desire and desire for this. A professional team, a Russian team, should work with Russian suppliers of products, with Russian agriculture, farmers and admirers,” Sergei Sobyanin said.
He added that the city was preparing for the worst scenarios. Therefore, grants were established for the opening of new catering networks. The first applications from the business have already been approved, and 60 new restaurants are already at the opening stage.
In March 2022, McDonald’s suspended the operation of its restaurants in Russia, and then decided to leave the country and sold its assets on the local market. The Moscow government, together with federal authorities and the business community, has done a lot of work to preserve the largest fast food chain, which has 850 enterprises in 62 regions of Russia.
As a result, a new fast food chain was created in the shortest possible time, the first 15 restaurants of which will start working on Russia Day in Moscow and the Moscow region. Then 50 more restaurants will open. And by the end of June, more than 200 establishments across the country will be operating.
Employees of the former network — over 50 thousand people at corporate enterprises — have the opportunity to keep their jobs. In addition, about 100 thousand jobs will remain at supplier enterprises.
Thanks to the preservation of the main supply chains, guests will see almost all the usual dishes on the menu, although some of them will not appear on sale immediately. In addition, the new chain has retained the advanced technologies of its predecessor, so that restaurant customers will continue to receive the usual level of service and product quality. The service system developed over the years, auto-distribution, the ability to place an order in a mobile application and much more will remain the same.
The flagship enterprise of the new chain will continue to be a restaurant on Pushkin Square (29 Bolshaya Bronnaya Street). He’s ra��laid in the premises of the first McDonald’s in Russia, opened on January 31, 1990. For many years, the restaurant has been the most visited in the world, and over 140 million guests have visited it in 30 years of operation.
“This is the very first, largest and most visited enterprise in Russia. Its area is more than three thousand square meters. At the same time there can be more than 600 guests. The capacities of our company allow us to serve more than two thousand guests in one hour thanks to new technologies, such as self—service boards, mobile ordering and delivery,” said Svetlana Mikryukova, a consultant for the production of a new network.
The restaurant has 10 ticket offices and 14 double-sided kiosks, which allow serving several thousand visitors per hour. The hall is designed for 633 seats. The mirrored facade of the institution visually connects the building with the city: it reflects the life boiling on Pushkin Square and at the same time creates a chamber atmosphere in which it is pleasant to meet friends, have lunch and spend time.
The Mayor of Moscow also signed a sign dedicated to the opening of a restaurant under a new brand on Pushkin Square.
Moscow support: grants for the opening of fast food outlets
In March 2022, the Moscow Government decided to allocate grants for the opening of new fast-service enterprises operating in the affordable prices segment and designed to replace the outgoing Western networks.
In order to apply for a grant, it is necessary to open a new food outlet and hire employees. The maximum grant amount for opening one point is five million rubles.
The program is in demand among entrepreneurs. Both existing network companies and new enterprises with original concepts apply for grants. As of today, 58 applications have been approved for a total amount of 118.5 million rubles. The selection of applications is scheduled to be completed on June 30, 2022.
