McDonald's, the world's largest fast food chain, has received permission to open its first five outlets in Novosibirsk, Siberia, as part of its planned expansion into the region, according to city administration documents published on Monday.
McDonalds plans to open ten fast food restaurants and cafes in the Novosibirsk Region in southwest Siberia with the support of the local authorities in 2013, Regional Governor Vassily Yurchenko said previously.
The US fast food giant says it has no restaurants in Siberia and the Russian Far East so far.
McDonald’s first five restaurants in Novosibirsk will have a capacity of 50 seats each.
McDonalds announced its intention in March 2012 to open its restaurants in several Siberian cities and a logistics center near Novosibirsk. McDonalds Vice-President for Russia Development Viktor Eidemiller has said the standard cost of opening an outlet in Siberia ranges from 30 million rubles ($990,000) to 150 million rubles ($4.9 million) depending on the restaurant size and format.
The first McDonald’s outlet in Russia opened in Moscow on January 1, 1990 and served 30,000 during the first day of operations, setting a world record. At the moment, there are about 324 McDonald's outlets in Russia, serving about a million visitors daily. Until now, all of them have been located in the European part of Russia.
