World's 2nd-Busiest McDonald's

Khamzat Khasbulatov's Pushkin Square, Moscow, McDonald's (the 2nd-busiest in the world) seats about 900 people at one time, and he still can't handle the crowds!

According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, "On average, each (Russian) location serves about 850,000 diners annually -- more than twice the store traffic in McDonald's other markets."

Mr. Khasbulatov jokingly complains about having too many customers. He qualifies that by saying, "When I said I have too many customers, it's a nice problem to have. I would love to continue to have this problem."



Check out the Wall Street Journal video on this intriguing situation.

From the customer point of view, this must be a problem. The article goes on to state:

As for the persistent crowds, many customers remain indifferent. "Our country's a country of lines," says Andrey Shatskiy, a 40-year-old soap-opera cinematographer, while eating lunch at the Pushkin Square restaurant. "We all got used to it."

Walt Riker, McDonald's Vice President, Corporate Media Relations shared these photos of a trip he made to Moscow this past summer - depicting the throngs of customers crowding a different McDonald's. Thanks, Walt!

The McChronicles: a blog about, not affiliated with, McDonald's.
Video: Brightcove
Images: Walt Riker, McDonald's.

Specialty Coffee & Premium Beverages at McDonald's

Earlier this month McDonald's announced that they will add specialty coffee and other premium beverages to the menus at its more than 14,000 U.S. locations in 2008.

Has anyone seen this start happening yet?

The McChronicles: a blog about, not affiliated with, McDonald's.
Image: Four Sizes of Coffee in Moscow McDonald's: Walt Riker, McDonald's Vice President, Corporate Media Relations