The Mak.by fast food restaurant the head of state came to is located in the First National Trading House. The restaurant was opened in late 2025 and is located on the first floor of the shopping center. The place can seat 139 people. Just like in the other Mak.by chain outlets, this one offers all the key innovations: self-service kiosks, digital menu boards, an interactive gaming zone for kids, separate zones for taking orders and for getting the ordered food.

The head of state recalled that after the McDonald’s fast food chain stopped operations in Belarus, he gave instructions to make a domestic analog on par with the U.S. fast food chain. Some time later the local restaurants changed their names to Mak.by and started using an overwhelming majority of Belarusian ingredients to cook the food.

Aleksandr Lukashenko also talked to the personnel employed by the restaurant. Mainly young people work there but some of the restaurant’s personnel stayed with the Mak.by chain after McDonald’s withdrew from Belarus. The president wondered whether working conditions in the restaurant with the new name had changed. The workers, who had started working there under McDonald’s management, admitted that they had seen no difference after the withdrawal of the U.S. brand.

«In other words, we did the right thing: if you go away, feel free to leave. But you’ve stayed. The people, who know how to do everything. To bring equipment was the only task. Although equipment was not the point. The task was to get down to business and get things done,» Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed. «This is how we should proceed. We should focus on our own.»

«And now Americans can come here and take a look. If they come to me, you should definitely bring them here,» the head of state told First Deputy Prime Minister Nikolai Snopkov. «Tell them: we are going to McDonald’s. Belarusians work. Belarusian equipment. Belarusian products.»

The Belarusian leader also spoke about the high quality of Belarusian foods. The decision to keep Soviet government-mandated standards in Belarus was one of the significant factors behind the accomplishment.

After talking to Mak.by personnel the president personally sampled the diverse menu of the restaurant. He made an order via a self-service kiosk. He ordered a burger, French fries, chicken, coffee, and dessert. «Keep in mind that it is the first time I have been to Mak.by. I guess I have been to restaurants three times over the course of my life. In conventional restaurants, Soviet ones,» the head of state admitted.

Aleksandr Lukashenko had previously noted that he would be interested in visiting this chain. During a working trip to Kirovsk District in August 2025 he said that he would do that under one condition: if he gets treated to a dish that is made only out of Belarusian foods. Back then the president admitted that he had never sampled anything on Mak.by’s menu.