March the 16th, 2022 - The very first Koprivnica Mcdonalds restaurant is set to open its doors near the town's Supernova centre sometime this July, bringing with it stable employment for local residents.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the world-famous American fast food chain, McDonalds, should open its very first Koprivnica restaurant this July. Work on the location next to the roundabout near the Supernova shopping centre has already started.

As has also been found out, the training of future Koprivnica McDonalds employees has been going on here in the City of Zagreb for three months now, and it is said that there will be at least 50 of them, which is more than excellent news for the local population of a continental town that certainly isn't immune to economic hardship and negative demographic trends.

The brand new Koprivnica Mcdonalds will have a standard offer for a Croatian Mcdonalds with space for McDrive so that people can order meals from the comfort of their own cars (Drive Thru) . It will be the 39th restaurant of that wildly popular American chain to open its doors here in the Republic of Croatia and the 17th city where it will be opened, writes Danica.

Last year, McDonalds in Croatia achieved revenue growth of 3.7 percent, amounting to a total of 610 million kuna. This can be attributed to the new restaurants they opened, including the one on Bjelovar, another continental Croatian town.

McDonalds had a net profit of 66.2 million kuna in Croatia the year before last. The average net salary per employee during 2020 amounted to 6,150 kuna, and they have about 2,700 workers employed in stable jobs in locations across the country.

For more, make sure to check out our business section.

May the 23rd, 2021 - McDonalds Koprivnica is set to open its doors in that continental Croatian town before Christmas 2021 arrives.

When it comes to most tourists in Croatia, the last thing on their mind is grabbing a quick McDonalds when on the way somewhere. Instead dreaming of pizza, cevapi, lamb on the spit, peka, many fish dishes, strukli and the list goes on, and on, then on a bit more. For those of us who live here, though, after the end of a a hectic work day, McDonalds is often more tempting than you'd imagine when the aforementioned dishes become the norm.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, McDonalds Koprivnica will begin operating before the end of this year, offering not only a taste of this international fast food chain to yet another Croatian town, but employment possibilities to locals.

This is information that has been circulating in Koprivnica for weeks now, and now it is clear that the realisation of McDonalds Koprivnica is very close. As Danica.hr unofficially finds out, McDonalds will allegedly by located the roundabout in Koprivnica next to Interspar and Pevex. The exact location is apparently going to be in the area behind the Apiosa petrol station, on the site where old houses are today.

It has also been found out that McDonalds has already signed its pre-contracts with the owners to purchase the aforementioned properties and their wish is to open the brand new McDonalds Koprivnica by the end of the year at the latest, ie by Christmas 2021.

When this enormous American fast food chain was asked about coming to Koprivnica, McDonald’s Croatia replied: We plan to further expand our business across Croatia and Koprivnica is also one of the towns interesting to us. As soon as the plans become more specific, we will inform all interested parties of what they are.''

For more, follow our dedicated business section.

January 3, 2021 - While 2020 was a terrible year for most, there were plenty of success stories in Croatia. For some, such as the business-friendly Bjelovar Mayor, Dario Hrebak, it was the most successful year in his city's history.

It is almost a year since I wrote the most unlikeliest of titles in the modern Croatia - Seeds of Change: My City is Corruption-Free, Claims Croatian Mayor.

Bjelovar Mayor Dario Hrebak appeared to be a mayor with a different agenda than the ones I was used to in local politicians - lining their pockets, rewarding party loyalists and cousins with the top jobs, and using the position to maintain the status quo rather than working for the citizens of the town. 

Reducing the number of people in his administration to make it more efficient (never a vote winner), slashing local business taxes to encourage investment, and digitising the system to make it more efficient and user-friendly. Not things one was sadly accustomed to in public administration in Croatia. 

The pandemic has prevented me from taking a more active interest in Bjelovar on the ground this year, but we have been following progress from afar.

The Bjelovar mayor has always been very communicative on social media, and his latest post on Facebook today hails not only the opening of the first McDonalds (and accompanying 40 jobs) in his city, but also the fact that his policies seems to be working - he claims that 2020 was the most successful year in the history of Bjelovar, and that there is more to come in 2021:

For years we have been building Bjelovar as ′′business-friendly", a city with one of the best business environments in Croatia, where the entrepreneurial kuna is valued more than in most other cities in Croatia. McDonald's opened today in Bjelovar. The investment, greater than 2 million euros, was implemented within a short period of only a few months. 40 new employees will have jobs, and this investment is proof that Bjelovar has become a desirable destination for many investors. The city that abolishes its taxes, quickly issues all necessary permits, reduces public administration and makes it more efficient, I'm sure there will be targets and new manufacturing investments.

(Site of the new McDonalds in Bjelovar - before and after)

All entrepreneurs and investments are welcome to our Bjelovar, and the competition encourages us to be better, faster and more agile.

And to finish, some more good news, despite the crisis, we have completed one of the more demanding years in which after 20 years we abolished the apparatus, exempted payment entrepreneurs and other taxes and compensation so that they could keep their jobs, and on the other hand by implementing a budget of about 250 million kunas, this is the most successful year in the history of our city! Happy new year 2021. to us!

I'm convinced it will be even more successful!

You can follow the latest from Bjelovar in the dedicated TCN section.

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.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

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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.

To read more about lifestyle in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 18th of November, 2019, visitors to the newly opened McDonald's restaurant in Croatia's capital city will be attracted to state-of-the-art technology within the ''Experience of the Future'' concept, which are stand-alone kiosks for ordering and preparing food only after it has been ordered.

McDonald's opened its 31st restaurant in Zagreb, (more specifically in Buzin), and was among the first to be visited by US Ambassador to Croatia Robert W. Kohorst.

In keeping with the new standards of visual identity, at McDonald's Buzin, guests can enjoy the widely known meals, including burgers and other items. The restaurant features a McCafé corner where guests can enjoy fine 100% Arabica coffee or cakes, and it will likely quickly become a favoirite choice for a quality breakfast.

''We're very pleased to be able to offer Zagreb's residents another McDonald's restaurant where they will create good memories with good food, and that the opening of McDonald's Buzin is yet another indicator that we are successfully continuing our development and strengthening of our position on the Croatian market and opening new employment opportunities,'' said Pavel Pavlicek, CEO of McDonald's Croatia.

The newly opened McDonald's, otherwise the 31st in Croatia, will attract visitors with some of the most impressive modern technologies within the concept of the aforementioned ''Experience of the Future''.

The brand new McDonald's in Buzin is a detached restaurant right next to Supernova Center in Buzin. Easy accessibility for McDrive will attract a number of guests looking for quick ordering and convenience, and for anyone looking forward to being able to order deliveries from McDonald's in that part of the Croatian capital, the good news is that the new restaurant is also launching that service in a few days, in collaboration with the restaurant's partners Glovo and PauzaGO.

Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle page for much more.

November 11, 2019 -  Following on from the recent look at how Croatia is the non-Starbucks capital of the EU, how prevalent is McDonalds in Croatia? And KFC?

During my time here, I have found that there are two ways to start a heated debate in Croatia if the conversation is at a lull. You can ask the following two questions, then leave the room and come back an hour later. 

1. Who are the best 5 Hajduk players of all time? (Works best in Split)

2. How do you feel about Starbucks coming to Croatia?

During a very stimulating Crikvenica International Health Tourism conference in Selce this week, leading tourism guru Doug Lansky gave a powerful presentation on successful tourism. He pointed out that while tourists wanted something amazing and unique, paradoxically, the tourism world was becoming more of the same, with global franchises such as Pizza Hut and Starbucks more prevalent in many cases on foreign shores more so than origin countries like the United States. 

A few days ago, we took a look at how Croatia is doing with regard to the Starbucks invasion. Rather well, it appears, and as we discussed back then, despite some 20 million tourists a year, it is the biggest country in the EU (both in terms of its own population and tourist numbers) with no Starbucks at all. And long may it continue was the general conclusion of almost all of the lively commentary on our various social media channels. Read more in Staying Authentic: Croatia the Non-Starbucks Capital of the EU.

But what about the other big global franchises? How does McDonalds in Croatia compare with the rest of the EU? Or KFC?

Information about McDonalds in Croatia in a format to compare with the rest of Europe was surprisingly hard to find. Even on the official McDonalds website, the data is from 2015 for global outlets, when there were 25 McDonalds in Croatia. According to the country-specific site, there are 30 today (see the lead photo for locations). 

And those numbers for McDonalds in Croatia are broadly in line with this 2016 map of Big Mac stores per million inhabitants in Europe. And, the small Baltic states aside, Croatia once more leads the EU in the lowest number of McDonalds per million inhabitants. All the more impressive given the strong tourism demand in the country, where familiar convenience food and recognisable brands are a comfort for the less adventurous tourist. 

Croatia is not number one when it comes to KFC, but it is still very resistant to the Colonel's chicken revolution. While Poland has embraced KFC like almost nowhere else in Europe, Croatia has so far resisted largely - just 8 outlets at the moment in Croatia, six of which are in Zagreb.  

Croatia prides itself - quite rightly - on its authentic food and wine. In an increasingly globalised world, the resistance to the Starbucks and the McDonalds in Croatia can be  turned into a positive promotional tool for those looking for more authentic and discerning tourism. Speaking of which, where else in the world would you find such an incredible selection of niche food festivals as you can find in Natural Food Festivals: 25 Things to Know about Croatian Gourmet Goodness. 

Croatia's branch of the large American fast food chain has decided on a step that all of their customers and employees, not to mention the environment, should feel. As Poslovni Dnevnik/Sergej Novosel Vuckovic writes on the 5th of November, 2019, today, McDonald's announced its plan to reduce plastic use and phase out its use entirely by 2025 at the Zagreb Avenue Mall location.

"We have to talk about this problem because it's important for the entire planet, and then for us. We've been struggling with this for some time, it isn't easy, because we're the largest restaurant chain in the world, we want to be among the first to go in this direction of reducing plastic use. What we do has a big impact: There are more than 10,000 people visiting us every day in restaurants across Croatia that we want to show you can do a lot without so much plastic.

Our first step is to be taken next year, and we're already introducing items that will replace plastic ones up to now, such as paper straws, paper balloon holders and paper cups for some of our products like McFlurry ice cream. By 2025, we want to have all of our products be recycled ones or from sustainable sources, which don't have a negative impact on the environment,'' explained McDonald's Croatia director Pavel Pavliček.

Robert Švigir, Head of Purchasing and Quality Control, noted that paper fibers are used in almost 80 percent of packaging. At the beginning of 2020, all paper packaging used by McDonald's in Croatia will come from certified, recycled or sustainable sources.

''Plastic straws are quite a big problem and they're one of the reasons for switching to the paper version. Unfortunately, the food business requires a certain amount of plastic packaging to ensure the safety and quality of food and, on the other hand, to reduce its waste. That is why we've focused on trying to reduce the use of those with reduced recycling capacity or to remove them completely, as is the case with plastic straws, and to increase the share of recycled materials. This is the so-called RPET plastic, which can be completely recycled and new products can then be made from it,'' explained Švigir.

With such an approach, McDonald's could, as they point out, meet the EU's set goals for a circular economy and waste prevention. Such activities, they say, will continue so that they are primarily engaged in the sustainable use of plastics in business.

As a chain with 30 restaurants across the Republic of Croatia,  it is not easy to implement the aforementioned changes, especially with regard to the procurement of all of the adequate materials. The new packaging is therefore being tested at the Avenue Mall restaurant and will gradually be introduced to others across the country.

"The procurement process is still ongoing and we're still looking for the best alternative materials that could replace plastics without affecting the customer experience and disrupting our standard of service. The procurement process took several months in Croatia, we tested many different materials in order to find the correct types. All the manufacturers are from the EU, it is important that the straws are sustainable and don't have a negative impact on the environment.

"You can imagine, every time a customer orders a menu or a drink they get a straw, that's a lot of plastic. By the end of 2021 and early 2022, we intend to remove plastic straws, and by 2025, all the other plastic packaging, disposable glasses... It's a demanding project that is also affecting change within the supply chain and we're monitoring the impact not only on the chain but also on the environment,'' Pavliček said.

McDonald's Croatia have pointed out that these changes, which all require a considerable investment, will not affect the price of their products for the end consumer.

Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle page for more. Follow Total Eco Croatia if you're interested in both the official and unofficial ways Croatia tries to protect its environment.

As Glas Istre/Mirjana Vermezovic Ivanovic writes on the 1st of October, 2019, at a former pebbled car park in Pula, two buildings quickly ''erupted''. The first, smaller, concrete building is located just off the main thoroughfare, and will house a McDonald's drive-in restaurant. Next to it is a much larger prefabricated facility, and that will house as many as sixteen international brands.

It's full steam ahead with the construction works at Pula City Mall, as the centre is being expanded by an additional 9,400 square feet.

As stated, the first, smaller facility will become home to a McDonald's drive-in restaurant. Drivers will therefore be able to buy their meals directly from the road, but there will also be a space available to them where they can sit and eat.

The employer, the Global Food (Globalna Hrana) company from Zagreb, is already looking for restaurant and cafe workers for Pula's future McDonald's, as well as public relations managers and other managers through the popular Mojposao (Myjob) portal.

In addition, a second, much larger prefabricated facility was erected to house sixteen global brands. A total of 306 parking spaces are planned in front of the facilities and 131 of them will be located in an underground garage that will be attached to the already existing one.

In parallel, channels are being dug, which will then be connected to Pula's sewer system. The construction site is full of workers, even several Indian employees have been noticed, and it seems that the project could be completed well before the deadline, which was otherwise initially set at the end of this year.

However, yesterday, Glas Istre was unable to find out anything about the Pula project from the investor's representative, the Zagreb-based MID Bau Real Estate (Nekretnine), which in charge of project development. However, it is known that an investor, AM IOTA Real Estate, is investing a massive eighteen million euros in this project. The works themselves are being carried out by the Elektro thermal systems company from Nova Gradiška.

Work first began back on June the 12th on plots of land that were bought from the City of Pula, as well as from private owners, which cover a total of 22.5 thousand square metres.

Make sure to follow our dedicated business and lifestyle pages for much more.

Despite the many reservations people tend to have about McDonald's, regardless of its enormous effort to change the way in which it is viewed across the world, the wildly popular American fast food restaurant chain has done very well for itself here in Croatia, and the company is set to introduce an even more alluring offer.

McDonald's, which divides opinion all of the world, continues to divide here in Croatia. While many tourists love to enjoy traditional Croatian dishes and can't understand why anyone living here would sooner opt for the typically calorie filled yet now very modern and varied McDonald's menu, a lot of people living and working in Croatia can think of nothing worse than coming home from work and starting to cook, especially in larger cities such as Zagreb, and it's rare you'll see an empty McDonald's at and around rush hour in most parts of the country.

Owing to its popularity, McDonald's has decided to take another brave business plunge, and plans to introduce a food delivery service, which has been a desire for the restaurant's customers for many years, in Croatia. 

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 1st of July, 2019, McDonald's brand new service will first be carried out by three restaurants in the City o Zagreb, and then slowly, deliveries will spread out. This was first found out in an interview with Pavel Pavliček, Global Food's director, which is McDonald's Franchise Holder in the Republic of Croatia.

The new service will first be available in three Mcdonald's restaurants in Zagreb: Pothodnik, followed by Vrapče, then Kvaternikov trg (Kvaternik's square).

"We were interested in introducing a delivery service two and a half years ago. However, there were no delivery companies in Croatia that could do this on the highest of all levels. Now, we have three players on the market that can meet our requirements. These are Glovo, Wolt and Pauza. We cooperate with Glovo and Wolt in other countries and we'll therefore go first with Glovo. It will take some time for us to be fully operational, and then we will see if we'll include cooperation with the other or with the two [aforementioned] companies,'' said Pavliček, citing that their goal is to deliver food quickly, within half an hour, and then try to reduce that time down again to just twenty minutes.

The delivery prices will be determined not by McDonald's by the company's chosen delivery partners.

Follow our dedicated business page for much more.