Just over two weeks after McDonald's officially exited Kazakhstan, Food Solutions KZ LLP, who operated its restaurants under the fast food brand, has decided to reopen the outlets before registering a new name, QazMonitor reports.
Five restaurants will resume their work in Almaty today. The rest of the branches in other cities will open gradually, assured the general director of Food Solutions KZ, Aset Mashanov.
He said: "We intend to maintain our position as a leader in the catering industry. We express our sincere gratitude to our employees, partners, and government agencies that support us."
Staff members who worked at the time McDonald’s closed will keep their jobs, wages, and other working conditions. The menu and quality standards also have been kept the same.
Supplies have been stocked with local ingredients, which have been cited as the main reason for the popular fast-food giant's departure from the country.
Despite negotiations, Food Solutions KZ could not source the beef patties locally under the McDonald's license. Previously, the company had imported them from Russia until the sanctions caused McDonald's to shut down the chain in Russia and ban supply to Kazakhstan.
After the McDonald's signs were taken down, people were left wondering what will happen to the outlets. In the past week, there have been speculations that the outlets will follow Russia's example when former McDonald's restaurants were renamed Vkusno i Tochka.
"For now, the restaurants will open without a name, but we will introduce it in the near future," Mashanov said regarding the naming.