How times have changed. Back in 1990, the above photo shows how excited people (including a Soviet cop) were when McDonald’s opened on Moscow’s Gorky Street (following the fall of the Berlin Wall), but those fast-food glory days are over. This is down, of course, to Vladimir Putin’s dismal Ukraine war, which led many global businesses (including that very American fast food chain) to pull out of Russia. This led Russia to rebrand/launch a knockoff — “Vkusno i tochka,” which translates as “Tasty and point” — that Russia claimed would be better. Well, it’s not better, as photos of moldy buns have proven, which for sure, people are not lovin’ (it).
In addition to serving up fungus, there’s more disaster coming from the chain. As Business Insider reports, the chain will somehow not have french fries on the menu for the foreseeable future. Vkusno i tochka is claiming that a dire potato shortage is in process, and to complicate matters, no one will sell them potatoes because Putin’s imperialistic ways are not going over well. Via Business Insider:
Vkusno & tochka told Russian news outlet TASS that a poor harvest last year is to blame. Vkusno & tochka also said it’s “impossible to import from markets that could become temporary suppliers of potatoes for enterprises in Russia.”
Russia’s ministry of agriculture, however, begs to differ. In a statement on Telegram titled “There are potatoes – and that’s it,” a clear nod to the fast food chain’s name, the agency said the country is “fully supplied with potatoes, including processed ones.”
Naturally, the Kremlin’s denying ^^ that this story is a story, but perhaps the missing fries are actually for the better. Although the knockoff claims that the fries will return in fall-ish, previous reports call them “a bit sadder, less salty and crispy.” And given that the Russian people are missing out on plenty of things they formerly took for granted (like Netflix availability), this surely won’t help morale inside of the country while Putin’s Botox-wax supply continues unabated.
(Via Business Insider)