December the 12th, 2020 - The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has forced many a planned investment to grind to a halt or be shelved all together, but love it or hate it, McDonald's is continuing with its sizeable investments in Croatia.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Sergej Novosel Vuckovic writes, the largest fast food chain in the country is continuing with its investments in Croatia as if this isn't the most devastating economic crisis in memory. The fast food chain will open two new Croatian restaurants in just two months.

One is already operating and is located in Spansko in Zagreb. It has been in business since back in mid-October this year, where, in addition to its indoor facility, there is also a McDrive service for ordering from outside and McCafé. On top of that, a new restaurant in Bjelovar will open soon.

The original date was planned for mid-December, and it was postponed to the second half of the month, but according to the current epidemiological situation, it will certainly not be a classic opening event, with people entering, balloons and an entertainment programme as all such things are formally prohibited until December the 21st. This has also been confirmed by McDonald's who are confirming properly with the anti-epidemic measures introduced by the National Civil Protection Headquarters.

"The opening of the new McDonald's in Bjelovar is planned for the second half of December, but the exact opening date will depend on the dynamics of the ongoing works and the epidemiological situation," they said, noting that orders will be issued at McDrive for guests arriving by vehicle or via their McWalk services for those who have come on foot to pick up an order.

The Bjelovar facility has already reached its final shape and Bjelovar's citizens are quite impatient to welcome the opportunity to eat the food and see the town's economic situation improve as Bjelovar locals will be employed there.

"The investment in the restaurant, which is our 37th in Croatia, is worth more than two million euros, and Bjelovar is the 15th city in which we operate," said McDonald's Croatia. Earlier, director Pavel Pavlicek pointed out the following:

"This crisis has posed many challenges and we're especially pleased that we can continue to invest."

Despite this enormous company's continued investments in Croatia, the situation is still unstable. Until the normal functioning of catering facilities is enabled again, the new measures will continue to bring additional challenges in the organisation of business within the restaurant and their primary focus remains on protecting the health of their employees and customers, while respecting all hygiene and safety standards.

The McDrive and McWalk services, as well as McDelivery, will operate all day, and where feasible (depending on the city), delivery is possible through Glovo and Pauza.hr's services.

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March 16, 2020 - McDonald's restaurants in Croatia will close on Tuesday, March 17, for visiting guests. The decision to close the restaurants was taken as a measure to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and to protect the health and safety of McDonald's employees and guests.

McDonald's restaurants in shopping malls will run according to the instructions of the malls themselves and will remain open for now, reports Vecernji List.

Guests will be able to pick up their orders at McDrive and through delivery, following a decision by the National Civil Protection Headquarters.

“Just as we are responsible for serving our guests safe food, we are also responsible for our employees who need to be ensured a safe working environment. Their safety and health are our priority. With strict adherence to the quality, hygiene and cleanliness procedures that we carry out, we believe that closing our restaurants is one of the measures we will take to ensure this safety and help prevent the spread of the pandemic,” said Pavel Pavlicek, McDonald's Croatia director.

As an additional precautionary measure, employees are measured by digital contactless thermometers on arrival. In the event of a fever, the staff will be removed from work with instructions to contact their physician.

All employees working with cash are required to wear disposable protective gloves, and card payment devices in the McDrive line are regularly disinfected.

From Monday, March 16, delivery zones will also be expanded to cover the entire city area of Zagreb, Rijeka, Split, Osijek and Pula, and delivery will be opened in Karlovac.

The big news is that delivery will be open earlier, already at 9 am, instead of at 11 am, and customers can order until 11 pm by using the Glovo app or Pauza.

In non-delivery cities, guests are invited to pick up their orders through McDrive.

In line with more stringent preventative measures, all 14 Supernova centers in Croatia will work shortened hours from Monday to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. They will be open Monday to Saturday from 10 am to 6 pm and will be closed on Sundays, the Supernova group said. On Sundays, only grocery, pharmacy, post office, drugstore and pet food stores will operate.

The administration of Westgate Shopping City has decided to shorten the opening hours temporarily. The Center's new opening hours are from 10 am to 6 pm (daily), which will take effect from Monday, March 16, 2020.

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