Black Star Burger

Black Star Burger opened on 17 September 2016 on Novy Arbat in Moscow, backed by Black Star, the record label of the rapper Timati. The launch was pure celebrity marketing: the queue on opening day was entered into the Russian book of records as the largest dancing queue, 668 people. Burgers came with black disposable gloves so nobody got sauce on their hands, and the gloves became the chain’s calling card.

It expanded fast, mostly through franchising, and by February 2021 had about 100 restaurants in eight countries, from Belarus and Kazakhstan to Armenia, Moldova and the United States. The celebrity link cut both ways. In 2019 Timati released a song praising Moscow’s mayor with a line about eating a burger to his health; it collected a million dislikes in two days, and co-founder Pavel Kuryanov later said fewer people came to the restaurants afterwards. Forbes Russia criticised the franchise for promising partners more than it delivered, and by August 2021 the network was down to about 60 restaurants.

The menu is built on halal meat, with a line of Black Angus beef burgers, a newer range of smash burgers and chicken rolls. The chain is still opening new restaurants, including Yakutsk and Mineralnye Vody.

Restaurants across Russia and franchises in several neighbouring countries; the network has shrunk and regrown since its 2021 peak.

• Vkusno i Tochka (Russia, since 2022). What McDonald’s turned into in Russia after it left in 2022. Also built on beef and cheese.
• Burger Heroes (Russia, since 2015). Moscow burger bars with Black Angus beef, cherry on the Black Mamba and burgers cooked to order. Also built on beef and cheese.
• Hopdoddy Burger Bar (United States, since 2010). Austin’s burger bar, where the menu runs from bison with fig jam to a rare tuna burger. Also built on beef, truffle, crispy onions and cooked onions.
• Bareburger (United States, since 2009). An Astoria burger bar that put elk, bison and organic beef on the same menu. Also built on beef, mushrooms, crispy onions and cooked onions.