The 25 restaurants which currently operate under the McDonald’s brand will be rebranded under a fast food chain based in Russia because “it is no longer possible for” the local licensee of McDonald’s to continue its operations in Belarus “due to extensive local supply issues” and that as a result, “the licensee will stop operating as McDonald’s, and will no longer carry the McDonald’s name or serve our menu.”
McDonald’s Rebranding As “Tasty and That’s It” in Belarus
The announcement on Friday, November 11, 2022 comes five months after McDonald’s left Russia due to the invasion of Ukraine by that country — and only two days prior to this article which was published here at The Gate called Sunday Morning Photograph November 13 2022: Fast Food Restaurants Invade Minsk.
Vkusno I Tochka — which translates into English as Tasty and That’s It — is based in Russia. Resulting from a decision to sever ties with Russia over its actions in Ukraine, McDonald’s had sold its restaurants in Russia in May of 2022 to Vkusno I Tochka…
…but issues with the supply chain — including shortages of potatoes for French fries and Coca-Cola, which was substituted with Dobry Cola on tap — have clouded the otherwise bright outlook of the greater than 830 restaurants in Russia that have been rebranded under the Vkusno I Tochka brand since opening in June.
The 25 restaurants in six cities in Belarus which are currently operated by McDonald’s will also become a part of that brand over the next few weeks — saving greater than 2,000 jobs — and will likely also experience similar issues with the supply chain.
Final Boarding Call
Interestingly, the logo for Vkusno I Tochka reminded me of the official logo for Marriott even though they do not look the same — and apparently, I was not the only person who thought so.
The publishing of the aforementioned article called Sunday Morning Photograph November 13 2022: Fast Food Restaurants Invade Minsk. was purely coincidental, as I did not know about the fate of the 25 restaurants in Belarus until I was notified by Bulba — who is a reader of The Gate — who posted this comment: “You are in Belarus and do not know that no more McDonalds will be there? All those McD restaurants were sold to Russian chain who obtained also all McDonalds businesses in Russia.”
Thank you for the information, Bulba, which I researched for this article. I appreciate it.
Photograph ©2017 by Brian Cohen.
