Reporter’s Notebook: American fast food brands grow in popularity in Kazakhstan

During the last decade, I traveled to Kazakhstan, a republic of the former USSR. (Kazakhstan has long borders with Russia in the north and with China in the south.) I noticed several American fast food restaurants were increasing in popularity there. I visited some of the restaurants and could see similarities as well as differences in the well-known restaurant services

A Burger King restaurant in Karaganda, Kazakhstan, is attached to a mall; bringing a lot of traffic to the restaurant. ‘Location, location, location’ is the main slogan for a restaurant to succeed anywhere in the world. Photo provided.
A KFC restaurant in Karaganda, Kazakhstan, serves traditional fast food chicken dishes. Photo provided
Along with the U.S. McDonald’s menu, a variety of cakes are offered at McDonald’s restaurants in Kazakhstan. McDonald’s also delivers food to people’s homes in Kazakhstan, which is not common in the U.S. Photo provided.
– Tables and chairs inside McDonald’s in Karaganda, Kazakhstan, are ready for visitors to come. The restaurant gets busy at lunch and dinner times. Photo provided.
A line of customers gathers near the entrance to McDonald’s in Karaganda, Kazakhstan, in summer 2021. At that time, visitors were allowed to come in only using QR codes in their phones due to COVID-19. Photo provided.
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