MOSCOW, November 6 (RIA Novosti) — Russia’s historic first McDonald’s, which closed this past summer at the request of Russia’s federal consumer protection agency, is set to reopen at the end of the month, Russian media reported Thursday.
According to company representatives, all the sanitary-epidemiological norm violations identified by Rospotrebnadzor, the Russian Federal Consumer Rights Service, have been eliminated, and the fast food restaurant will reopen on time, within 90 days of the day when it was ordered to close its doors.
The historic restaurant, off Pushkin Square in the center of Moscow, originally opened in 1990 following a deal between the Soviet government and McDonald’s Canada. The restaurant was the largest McDonald’s in the world at the time.
In August 2014, local Moscow courts suspended the operation of three Moscow McDonald’s restaurants in the center of Moscow after Rospotrebnadzor found violations of sanitary-epidemiological norms. An additional seven outlets have been temporarily shuttered in other parts of the country due to sanitary concerns, as well as concerns over the fat content of the food. Courts have ruled that restaurants should remain closed for 90 days to address the violations.
McDonald’s representatives had earlier noted that over 200 of its 451 restaurants in Russia have faced inspections from Rospotrebnadzor.
The company has faced a worldwide decline in earnings by nearly 30 percent in the third quarter of this year, with falling sales purportedly stemming from a stained reputation, especially in countries like Russia, Germany and China, as well as in the US, its biggest market.
In Russia, the iconic American fast food institution has faced political flack lately as well, which has occurred alongside the cooling of relations between Russia and the United States. Late last month, a poll revealed that 49 percent of Russians would support closing all McDonald’s restaurants in the country, citing sanitary, health, and political concerns, with 33 percent answering that they would be opposed to such a closure.
