Shake Shack, a fast-food chain with a cult-like following that originated in New York City, will open on Moscow's Arbat street by the end of the year, a company spokesman said.
Thee exact opening date has not been revealed, but an online job announcement from the chain's local operator on Superjob.ru implied that the restaurant will open in November.
The newly established company Delicus was chosen to be Shake Shack's local operator, the fast-food chain's spokesman said.
Shake Shack began as a hot dog stand in Manhattan's Madison Square Park. Managed by Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group, the Shack opened its first permanent location in 2004 after three summers of successful sales.
In addition to its locations across the United States, Shake Shack also has outlets internationally, including in Dubai, London and Istanbul.
A company spokesman said that the Moscow restaurant will offer visitors the traditional menu of burgers, hot dogs and frozen custard deserts, as well as house wine and beer. There will also be some custom dishes made to "cater to Russian tastes and traditions."
Local and international suppliers will provide ingredients for the restaurant, although the information on who these suppliers will be is not yet available.
Shake Shack also currently has no plans to expand operations in Russia beyond Moscow.
"We are not ready to announce our plans of expanding in Russia," a company spokesman said. "At the moment, we are excited and happy to open Shake Shack in Moscow and we plan on focusing on growth and development."
United Russia deputy Yevgeny Fyodorov has prepared a bill that would require Russian companies to pay an additional tax if they have given their products foreign names, Izvestia reported on Wednesday.
Fyodorov the size of the tax amount will be symbolic – 1 percent or less of the company's revenue or another measurement – but given the penchant of Russian manufacturers to use foreign names to lure customers, the collected levy could add up to a big sum.
Fyodorov promised to present the bill to the State Duma before the end of the year.
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