Russia's McDonald's Replacement Is Already Running Out Of Fries
Topics: Food and Drink, McDonalds, Russia
Niamh Spence
Featured Image Credit: East2West News
Topics: Food and Drink, McDonalds, Russia
The Russian replacement for McDonald's has hit a big problem; it's apparently running out of french fries for its customers.
The staple menu item has been reportedly in short supply of late, and the restaurant will be forced to temporarily stop serving them.
The Vkusno i Tochka fast food chain, which took over from McDonald's and whose name translates to 'Tasty and that's it', made a statement to Russian news agency Tass saying the short supply is a result of a poor potato harvest in 2021.
As a result of potatoes being scarce, the restaurant has been forced to serve burgers without fries to customers. Another menu item staple, 'Rustic potatoes', are also thought to be unavailable to fast food fans.
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Prior to this, customers had complained about the fries, calling them 'sad' in comparison to those from McDonald's.
The restaurant has addressed the shortage and said that although it tried to source its potatoes from Russian suppliers, it had become impossible to import potatoes from external markets to make up for the shortfall in the domestic crop.
In response, the Russian agriculture ministry issued a statement on Telegram, titled 'There are potatoes – and that's it' to dispute Vkusno i Tochka's claim that it could not source domestic potatoes, MailOnline reports.
The ministry said: "The Russian market is fully supplied with potatoes, including processed ones. In addition, crops from the new harvest are already arriving, which rules out the possibility of a shortage."
However Vkusno i Tochka did confirm it expects to have a normal menu by autumn.
This isn't the first issue the fast food chain has hit, however, it has also had complaints from customers. Some took to social media to post pictures of mouldy burgers and insect legs found in their meals at the Russian fast food joint.
Vistors have complained of mould on the buns of their burgers in several outlets, according to Russian TV celebrity Ksenia Sobchak. The mouldy burger buns suggests the chain isn't just struggling to source potatoes for its fast food menu.
"Vkusno I Tochka sells mouldy burgers," Sobchak posted on her Telegram channel.
“It looks like they don’t quite honour the standards of McDonald’s, at least in terms of product quality control.
“Today at least three cases were recorded of burgers with mouldy buns sold to customers."
Vkusno i Tochka began operating at the beginning of June, and was initially flooded with eager diners. The new restaurant retained similarities to its McDonald's predecessor including a rebranded menu and new staff uniforms, which saw flocks of people queuing around the corner of the restaurant in Pushkin Square in Moscow city centre.
Russian businessman Alexander Govor, who ran 25 McDonald's branches in Siberia, bought all 847 of McDonald's Russian sites in May.