Tales of the Table · Tales of the Table
McDonald's (Iceland) (1993–2009) – Lost Tables
McDonald's arrived in Iceland in 1993, and the then prime minister Davíð Oddsson was the first to eat there. Over the years its outlets included one on Suðurlandsbraut and, for a time, one downtown in the Hressingarskálinn building, and by 2009 there were three.
McDonald's arrived in Iceland in 1993, and the then prime minister Davíð Oddsson was the first to eat there. Over the years its outlets included one on Suðurlandsbraut and, for a time, one downtown in the Hressingarskálinn building, and by 2009 there were three. After the 2008 banking collapse the króna fell so far that imported meat, cheese and vegetables roughly doubled in cost, and in October 2009 McDonald's announced with less than a week's notice that it was leaving the country; the last meals were sold on 30 October 2009. The operating company, Lyst ehf., reopened the restaurants as Metro, using Icelandic ingredients. The very last burger and fries, bought to test whether they would ever decay, became a curiosity in their own right and are now displayed and live-streamed from a guesthouse in South Iceland.
The restaurants were taken over by the Icelandic chain Metro; the last burger is on display at Snotra House in Þykkvibær
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