The highly anticipated rebranding of a former McDonald’s restaurant in Russia has caused a frenzy among Russians. The announcement was made by Anton Pinskiy, a well-known Russian restaurateur, and Timati, a pro-Kremlin rapper. The duo revealed that they would be taking over all of the former Domino’s pizza outlets in the country and changing the “I” in Domino to the Cyrillic letter “и.” Despite this minor change, the logo remained mostly the same.
This collaboration between Pinskiy and Timati isn’t their first venture together. Last year, they purchased 130 coffee shops that were previously owned by Starbucks in Russia and renamed them Stars Coffee. Both Starbucks and Domino’s decided to pull out of the country due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, which resulted in economic sanctions against Moscow. Pinskiy and Timati, who have invested a substantial amount of money into their business, have stated that they will retain the franchise’s 120 restaurants and over 2,000 employees.
Interestingly, this announcement came shortly after DP Eurasia, the company that operated the Domino’s brand in Russia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, declared bankruptcy. Their attempts to sell the franchises were unsuccessful. This situation is not unique, as Russia passed a decree earlier this year allowing the national government to seize assets of companies from “unfriendly” countries. This has led to various rebrandings, such as Lego blocks becoming “World of Cubes” and Krispy Kreme donuts becoming “Krunchy Dream” in Russia.
Timati, whose real name is Timur Yunusov, has been a long-time supporter of the Kremlin through his music. In one of his songs from 2015, he even referred to Russian leader Vladimir Putin as his best friend and a superhero. The Stars Coffee rebrand was announced by Timati and Pinskiy last year, with Pinskiy disclosing that he paid approximately $6 million for the assets.
Overall, the rebranded McDonald’s restaurant in Russia has garnered much attention and anticipation from the public. With Pinskiy and Timati at the helm, it will be interesting to see how they continue to reshape the restaurant industry in the country.
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