• Global franchises shut their doors in Russia after the country invaded Ukraine.
  • New owners of locations that once housed McDonald's and Starbucks say they got a great deal.
  • But some customers say the new iterations don't quite have the same allure as the former ones.

New iterations of global restaurant franchises in Russia may have some similarities to their previous tenants, but to some diners, they're missing that secret sauce.

In May 2022, McDonald's stopped doing business in Russia, citing the war in Ukraine, and the "unpredictable operating environment."

They're among the global chains that wealthy Russians snapped up in the wake of the war, often for a low price, The Guardian reported on Wednesday.

As the war transformed the business landscape in Russia, Krispy Kreme became Krunchy Dream and Lego turned into World of Cubes.

McDonalds was renamed "Vkusno & tochka," which translates to "Tasty & that's it."

They replaced Big Macs with Big Hits and sold a record 120,000 burgers on the first day in business, the chain's CEO told Reuters at the time.

"We have never seen such daily turnover in the whole time McDonald's has worked in Russia," Oleg Paroev told Reuters in June 2022.

Starbucks locations in Russia also ceased operations around the same time and became Stars Coffee, a cafe with a familiar green logo of a vaguely seafaring-looking queen.

Stars Coffee
The logo is seen at the launching of the new coffee shop "Stars Coffee", which opens following Starbucks' exit from the Russian market, in Moscow, Russia August 18, 2022.
REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo

The new iteration is now co-owned by restaurateur Anton Pinskiy and the Russian rapper Timati, who in 2015 released a song called "My Best Friend is Vladimir Putin," per the Guardian.

On Tuesday, Pinskiy told the state news agency Tass that he and Timati acquired all of Starbucks' Russian assets for just 500 million roubles, or about $6 million.

Alexander Govor, the businessman who transformed more than 800 McDonald's into Vkusno & tochkas, similarly said he bought the locations at "far lower than market price."

And while a record number of Russians may have tried the new burgers, they didn't all like them, Reuters reported.

"The sauce, which was the Big Mac's main quality, has become a little more sweet and sour," a student named Vladimir told Reuters.