• by Dave Morgan , Featured Contributor, Yesterday

The food in Ukraine is extraordinary. With agricultural prominence as the breadbasket of the world combined with the diverse culinary roots of its settlers -- Poles, Hungarians, Romanians, Slavs, Italians, Jews, Germans, Greeks and Tartars among them -- eating in Ukraine is always special.

From borscht, varenyky and Chicken Kyiv to syrnyky, Kyiv Cake and Lviv Cheesecake, I have loved the food discovery in every one of my many trips to Ukraine these past three years. The hot dogs on the trains are amazing, and you can have fresh-plated duck at gas stations.

So you can imagine my surprise to learn of the reverence that so many Ukrainians have for McDonald’s, particularly those under 40 years old. For sure, part of it stems from the general affinity that many in Ukraine developed for iconic American brands after the Soviet Union collapsed and it became an independent democratic nation.

But it’s more than that. McDonald’s is much more of an upscale restaurant in Ukraine relative to its position in the U.S. market. It is a place where young couples go for dates, where young children want to celebrate their birthdays, where Ukrainians like to go with co-workers for lunch.

And, by the way, McDonald’s menu and food in Ukraine are better than in the U.S. It certainly benefits from the quality of the local ingredients, but the menu is more diverse and has many entrees, sides and beverages that we just don’t have here.

McDonald’s has elements of a cultural phenomenon in Ukraine. On one of my trips to the eastern city of Kharkiv, the railway's power was knocked out by Russian attacks, and we had to disembark east of Poltava, a city particularly known for its unique dumplings. As friends drove me the two hours to Kharkiv, we passed Poltava’s McDonald’s. 

Unbelievably, the restaurant was ringed by lines of more than a thousand teenagers, most of whom had driven over from Kharkiv to escape its power blackout and to find some social respite and sense of normalcy hanging out with friends at McDonald’s like teenagers are supposed to.

When McDonald’s opened a new restaurant at the top of the Potemkin Steps in Odessa, an iconic gateway connecting the Black Sea port city center to the piers, many raised concerns about debasing such an important monument in a city renowned for its architecture and home to one of the world’s most beautiful opera houses. But as I learned last month when I visited Odessa, McDonald’s beautiful renovation of the 100+year-old structure is now applauded by most who had raised fears previously. (See below).

Yes, McDonald’s is actually opening new stores in war zones of the largest and most horrific war that Europe has seen in 80 years. The company is investing in Ukraine at a time its people and their nation so desperately need it, and Ukrainians are so thankful for that.

Many remember when McDonald’s was one of the very first Western companies to reopen business in Kyiv after having to shut down at the onset of the full-scale invasion. It opened again literally just months after the encircling Russian troops had withdrawn from around the city.

McDonald’s also suffers from attacks on civilian targets by the Russians like all of Ukraine. Just last week, one of its stores in Kyiv was largely destroyed in a precision missile attack on a large shopping mall. Fortunately, McDonald’s is also among the most stringent in adhering to safety protocols during air alerts, which has been critical to protecting its associates and customers.

No American consumer brand is as impactful in Ukraine as McDonald’s. It is making a big difference. Thank you, McDonald's.