On its opening day 35 years ago, the first McDonald's in the USSR served 30,000 customers. Discover the prices and highlights from this historic event (photos).

The opening of the first McDonald's fast food restaurant in the Soviet Union was a significant event for the Soviet people. Unprecedented dishes and impeccable polite service were a novelty, and thousands aspired to work for the company. It was on this day, January 31, 1990, that the first McDonald's opened in Moscow. We also shared how the opening of the first McDonald's in Kyiv looked.

The First McDonald's in the USSR — How the Opening Went

The first McDonald's fast food restaurant in the Soviet Union opened on January 31, 1990. It was located in Moscow's Pushkin Square. The fast food restaurant replaced the former café "Lyra," which had been quite popular among the "advanced" youth in the 1970s.

The establishment of the American company stood out from the Soviet dining scene not only due to its food selection but also because of its courteous service. The opening of the first McDonald's was a major event for Soviet citizens and garnered significant attention. On its first day alone, the fast food restaurant served over 30,000 visitors, with people lining up from 5 AM and waiting for several hours.

Notably, the first Soviet McDonald's in Moscow was the largest in the world at that time. The venue accommodated 700 visitors inside and had another 200 outdoor seats, serviced by 27 cash registers. It is known that with an average salary of 150 rubles for a Soviet citizen, a hamburger cost 1.5 rubles, and a Big Mac – 3.75 rubles. Interestingly, many Soviet citizens wanted to work at McDonald's, as the average salary there was significantly higher — around 300 rubles.

It is worth mentioning that the McDonald's chain invested approximately 50 million dollars into the opening of the first Soviet fast food restaurant. The fact is that in the USSR, the company had to develop the entire infrastructure from scratch to make the establishment functional. Thus, the Americans initiated the construction of an independent organization with their own farms in the Moscow region for potato supply, along with processing plants for producing hamburger buns, meat, apple pies, and other products for the restaurants.

Previously, "Telegraph" reported on how the advertisement for the Kyiv McDonald's looked over 20 years ago. And how much a cheeseburger cost back then.