Russia's new McDonald's replacement has opened to the public.

As reported by BBC News, the American fast food giant halted operations in Russia shortly after Putin's invasion of Ukraine back in March. And last month, McDonald's announced that it would be leaving Russia for good.

As a result, the company sold its 800 restaurants to Russian businessman Alexander Govor.

Govor rebranded the fast food chain to "Vkusno i Tochka" - which translates to "Tasty and That's It".

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And on Sunday, the first 15 Vkusno i Tochka restaurants opened their doors to customers.

Yes, the Golden Arches are gone - replaced by a stylized letter M. There are no more McFlurrys or Big Macs, but much of the menu does look rather familiar and much of the equipment in the kitchen is the same.

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In fact, the restaurant's new slogan - "The name changes, love stays" - suggests to customers that the restaurants will still offer that warm, friendly atmosphere that has made McDonald's so popular around the world.

Vkusno i Tochka CEO Oleg Paroyev said, per BBC News: "Our goal is that our guests do not notice a difference either in quality or ambiance."

Reuters reports that the opening of the restaurants proved popular with locals, with scores of people lining up in order to sample the smaller menu offerings.

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Although, BBC News adds that one person did crash the opening, calling for Russia to "bring back the Big Mac".

Back in May, McDonald's officials states that the humanitarian crisis "caused by the war in Ukraine, and the precipitating unpredictable operating environment, have led McDonald's to conclude that continued ownership of the business in Russia is no longer tenable, nor is it consistent with McDonald's values."

McDonald's chief executive Chris Kempczinski wrote a message to staff and suppliers following the closure and said: "This is a complicated issue that's without precedent and with profound consequences."

"Some might argue that providing access to food and continuing to employ tens of thousands of ordinary citizens, is surely the right thing to do," he added.

"But it is impossible to ignore the humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Ukraine. And it is impossible to imagine the Golden Arches representing the same hope and promise that led us to enter the Russian market 32 years ago," he concluded.

Featured image credit: Xinhua / Alamy

McDonald's restaurants reopen under new name in Russia