The first Rostic’s restaurant to replace the KFC brand in Russia opened in Moscow on Tuesday after the famous American fast food chain went out of business in response to the offensive in Ukraine, AFP reported.

Some decor elements were changed, the image of Colonel Sanders, the brand emblem disappeared. But the logo and packaging design with red and white stripes resembles the style of KFC.

“The sign changes, but the restaurant must maintain its authenticity,” said Konstantin Kotov, co-owner of the Russian company Smart Service, which bought the KFC restaurants from the US group Yum! Brands group in April.

According to him, it is planned to restart about 100 KFC restaurants under the Rostic’s brand by the end of summer. In total, the American network had more than 1,100 units in Russia, which will be gradually reequipped.

Since the beginning of the Russian attack on Ukraine and economic sanctions against Moscow, many large Western companies have left Russia, either for ethical reasons or because of difficulties in doing business.

McDonald’s restaurants, symbols of the arrival of American capitalism in Russia at the end of the USSR, and Starbucks coffee shops also sold their local operations to Russian businessmen, but not the right to use their brands.

In June of last year, McDonald’s in Russia was replaced by “Delicious and Dot”, and in August “Stars Coffee” cafes opened, which should replace Starbucks. The design and menu are very similar to their American predecessors.

For KFC, the transition is similar. Several dozen customers opened the new Rostic’s in the center of Moscow on Tuesday afternoon.

“I do not feel fear because of the departure of many brands (from Russia). We are in the 21st century, there is enough clothing, food and drink for everyone,” said 22-year-old engineer Valeria Varygina.

The menu at the new restaurants is identical to that of KFC, with two exceptions: the Twister and Boxmaster sandwiches, for which Yum! According to the new co-owner Kostyantyn Kotov, Brands owns patents and will be renamed Chef-roll and Rostmaster.

“The rest of the menu items will keep the same names and prices,” he said.

The Rostic’s restaurant chain already existed in Russia from 1993 to 2012, but then its name was written in Cyrillic. It was bought by Yum! The brands and all of its restaurants were renamed KFC in 2012.

Therefore, for many, the revival of Rostic’s, the first chain of fast food restaurants opened in post-Soviet Russia, resembles the first years after the collapse of the USSR.

“This is a childhood memory, they have already been here and are coming back,” says Yevhen Lazarev, a 31-year-old computer engineer who came to the city to work on the project.