Russia's new McDonald's runs out of French fries until autumn

'Tasty and that's it' has been hit by supply chain problems amid the conflict with Ukraine

Staff of a former McDonald's restaurant prepare for its reopening under a new brand, Vkusno i Tochka (Tasty and that's it), in Moscow on Sunday. EPA

Wrapped double cheeseburgers in the new restaurant. Its opening comes after US fast-food company McDonald's pulled out of Russia in May, after closing all its restaurants in the country in March due to the war in Ukraine. AFP

The first 15 rebranded outlets open in Moscow on Sunday. EPA

Oleg Paroev, chief executive of Vkusno & tochka, said the company was planning to reopen 200 restaurants in Russia by the end of June and all 850 by the end of the summer. EPA

The chain will keep its old McDonald's interior, but will expunge any references to its former name, said Mr Paroev, who was appointed Russia's McDonald's chief executive only weeks before Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on February 24. AFP

Siberian businessman Alexander Govor is the new owner of the outlets. He told Reuters he was striving launch something similar to the famous Big Mac. AFP

'Our goal is that our guests do not notice a difference either in quality or ambience,' Mr Paroev told a media conference in the restaurant. He said the chain would keep 'affordable prices' but added they would likely rise due to inflation but not higher than its competitors. AFP

The rebranding coincided with Russia Day, a holiday marking the country's independence. AFP

Scores of people queued outside what was formerly McDonald's flagship restaurant in Pushkin Square, central Moscow on Sunday. The outlet sported a new logo - a stylised burger with two fries - plus a slogan reading: 'The name changes, love stays'. Reuters

Some people said they could not taste the difference between the new and old food. EPA

Workers use a crane to dismantle the McDonald's golden arches while removing the logo signage from a drive-through restaurant in the town of Kingisepp, Leningrad. Reuters

A worker carries dismantled McDonald's golden arches outside a restaurant in St Petersburg. Reuters

Traces of the dismantled signage are seen on the facade of a McDonald's restaurant in St Petersburg. Reuters

Russia's replacement McDonald's restaurants have run out of French fries, its new owners said.

The US fast-food company pulled out of Russia in May, after closing all of its restaurants in the country in March in protest against the war in Ukraine.

A number of them reopened last month under the ownership of Vkusno & tochka, which translates into "Tasty and that's it".

However, after initial big queues, the restaurant chain has run into problems with sourcing potatoes due to supply chain disruption amid the conflict with Ukraine and western sanctions.

French fries will return to the menu in autumn at the start of the new harvest, Russian state news agency Tass reported.

Vkusno & tochka said that country-style potatoes, a thicker version, may also not be available, blaming 2021 as a lean year for potato varieties.

For the past eight years, the company had focused on Russian suppliers, it said. It had become impossible to import from markets that could become temporary suppliers of potatoes for enterprises in Russia, it said.

The Russian Ministry of Agriculture, however, denied there was a potato shortage.

The market is "fully provided" and products of a new crop are already arriving, eliminating the possibility of a shortage, the ministry said in a Telegram statement, which added that it expects an increase in the harvest of potatoes this year.

McDonald's employed 62,000 people in Russia and most were kept on for the new venture led by Siberian businessman Alexander Govor.

The new outlets, sporting a fresh logo, offer burgers and fries, which some said tasted and appeared much the same as they did under the McDonald's branding.

Vkusno & tochka did not have the right to use any mention of McDonald's, Mr Govor told Reuters last month.

"The Big Mac is the story of McDonald's," he said. "We will definitely do something similar. We will try to do something even better so that our visitors and guests like this dish."

The company was planning to reopen 200 restaurants in Russia by the end of June — and all 850 by the end of the summer.

Other US brands to exit Russia include Starbucks, PepsiCo and Coca-Cola, as they sought to comply with sanctions and deal with threats from the Kremlin that foreign-owned assets may be seized.