A new fast food restaurant has opened in northwestern Russia selling a variety of invasion-themed burgers.
Named after the famous pro-war symbol, ‘Z-Burger’ opened in early April in Syktyvkar with the slogan: ‘At Z-Burger, we support our own!’
Its menu includes a variety of burgers, pizzas and other fast food dishes bearing the names of Russian weapons, tanks and aircraft currently deployed in Ukraine.
The names of the burgers include the ‘Su-57’, which bears the name of Russia’s 5th generation fighter jet, much delayed; the ‘Kinzhal’ – a nuclear-powered air-to-surface missile; and the ‘T-34’, a World War II-era tank.
Other a la carte burgers carry nationalist epithets such as the “Kremlin”; ‘Za Krim’ (For Crimea); ‘Za Nashihk’ (For Us); and ‘Za KaVkaZ’ (For the Caucasus), with pro-war characters Z and V in capital letters for additional patriotism.
A new dawn is coming for fast food lovers in Russia as old McDonald’s restaurants prepare to reopen with a brand new and owned property.
McDonald’s said last month that it was selling its restaurants in Russia to one of its local licensees, Alexander Govor, after it decided to withdraw from the country following the February 24 invasion of Ukraine.
The new launch will begin on Russia Day, a patriotic holiday celebrating the country’s independence, on the same landmark as Moscow’s Pushkin Square, where McDonald’s first opened in Russia in January 1990.
McDonald’s iconic “Golden Bows” have been removed to locations in Moscow and St. Petersburg in preparation for launch, giving way to a new “hamburger and fries” logo on a green background.
A new fast food restaurant called ‘Z-Burger’ has recently opened in the Russian city of Syktyvkar. Its menu includes a variety of burgers, pizzas and other fast food dishes bearing the names of Russian weapons, tanks and aircraft currently deployed in Ukraine.
A new logo has been unveiled ahead of the launch that includes “two chips and a burger” on a green background, but the chain’s name has not yet been announced.
McDonald’s iconic “Golden Bows” have been shot down in Moscow and St. Petersburg in preparation for launch.
Workers dismantle a McDonald’s sign from a restaurant in St. Petersburg, Russia, June 7, 2022
The McDonald’s app was changed this morning to ‘My Burger’ in the Russian AppStore, but the chain’s press team said this was only temporary and did not reflect the brand’s final name.
The reopening will initially cover 15 nearby restaurants.
The design provoked some criticism on social media, and users noticed that the new logo bears a striking resemblance to that of the Marriott hotel chain and the Asian burger chain MOS burger.
Russian design house Logomachine tore the brand apart, declaring the design “unappetizing” and questioning how the oddly colored logo would translate into illuminated signage.
“Dark tones don’t make you want to go into the restaurant and order your favorite burger,” Logomachine said.
“Secondly, the logo violates one of the main design principles: contrast. The red and orange elements from afar will be indistinguishable. ‘
Meanwhile, the name of the new chain remains a well-kept secret.
A change in the name of McDonald’s on Friday’s “My Burger” app sparked some excitement online, but the chain’s press team said it was only temporary, according to Russian business publication RBC .
A slogan on the home page of the app said, “Some things are changing, but stable work has come to stay.”
Russian media reported the name change of dishes such as Filet-O-Fish to “Fish Burger” and Chicken McNuggets to simply “Nuggets”, although these changes could not be verified.
Entrepreneur Govor has said he plans to expand the brand to 1,000 locations across the country and reopen all of the chain’s restaurants in two months.
But it takes decades to build a brand, said Peter Gabrielsson, a professor of international marketing at Vaasa University in Finland, and the new launch is crucial to the brand’s future success.
“Opening day is important because it’s the first time consumers can really feel, touch and see the brand and what it stands for,” he said.
“It’s important what the reaction is, and obviously people will compare it to McDonald’s.”
The world’s largest burger chain owned 84% of its nearly 850 restaurants in Russia and took on a charge of up to $ 1.4 billion after the sale to Govor, which GiD LLC had previously run 25 restaurants.
Oleg Paroev of McDonald’s Russia has said other franchisees would have the option of working with the new brand, but the traditional McDonald’s brand will leave the country.
A worker dismantles the McDonald’s Golden Arches from a restaurant in St. Petersburg, Russia, on June 7, 2022
Signs of dismantled signage on the façade of a McDonald’s restaurant in St. Petersburg
Social media users joined the new design
The design caused some disbelief on social media, and users speculate that the new logo looks like a scam from the Marriott (L) hotel chain and the Asian fast food chain MOS Burger (R).
McDonald’s last year generated about 9%, or $ 2 billion, of its revenue from Russia and Ukraine.
McDonald’s has the right to repurchase its Russian restaurants within 15 years, but many of the terms of the sale to Govor are still unclear.
The TASS news agency said on Wednesday that McDonald’s would remain open as usual at Moscow and St. Petersburg airports and train stations until 2023, citing a source close to Rosinter Restaurants, another franchisee.
“Rosinter has a unique agreement under which the American corporation cannot take out the franchise. They can operate in peace,” the TASS source said.
Rosinter declined to comment. McDonald’s did not respond immediately.
When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, McDonald’s came to embody a thaw in Cold War tensions and was a vehicle for millions of Russians to taste American food and culture.
The departure of the brand is now a powerful symbol of how Russia and the West are turning their backs.