Rapper reopens Russian Starbucks cafes under new name – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries

One by one, the major Western brands left Russia after Putin’s invasion at the end of February. Among them were McDonald’s, Ikea, H & M, Lego, Nike and Nokia. And Starbucks. But now coffee-addicted Muscovites have a replacement in place. On Thursday, “Stars Coffee” opened its doors. Rapper Timati and restaurant owner Anton Pinsky attend the opening of the new cafe “Stars Coffee” in Moscow. Photo: MAXIM SHEMETOV / Reuters “Masculine tan” The entire operation is led by Yunus Yusupov, known by the stage name “Timati”, and his restaurateur colleague Anton Pinsky. Among other things, Timati is known to be a big supporter of Putin’s regime. In 2015, he released the song “Putin is my best friend”. Now the duo fronts a fairly recognizable variant of both the menu, the name and the logo of Starbucks. Starbucks logo. Photo: Charles Krupa / AP – We wanted some kind of continuity, and went to preserve the round logo with a female figure in the middle. This provides a nice contrast with the cigar-like and masculine brown colour, says Timati to Reuters as visitors flock to the store. At the same time, he emphasizes that the logo is unique: – It may be that people see it in a different way, but if you compare, there is nothing similar apart from the circle. Pinsky and Timati have previous experience in the catering industry, from when they started the burger chain “Black Star Burgers” in 2016. Coffee in a tea-loving country The Putin-friendly rapper says that they beat out many competitors to take over the operation of Starbucks cafes in Russia. The Starbucks empire grew from one cafe in Moscow in 2007 to 130 cafes and 2,000 employees in May this year, when the withdrawal became known. The American coffee company’s expansion surprised the traditionally tea-loving country. IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Timati and Pinsky surrounded by members of the press and café visitors during the opening of Stars Coffee. Photo: MAXIM SHEMETOV / Reuters So far, it seems that Timati and Pinsky are surfing on that wave of success. In any case, they have succeeded in avoiding criticism as fierce as that received by McDonald’s heir. In July, the reopening of McDonald’s former restaurants under the name “Vkusno & tochka” (“Tasty. Period.”) was met with protests and cries to “bring back the Big Mac!”.



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