VietNamNet Bridge – Fast-food giant McDonald’s plans to have a total of 4-5 restaurants in Vietnam this year as part of an ambitious goal for around 100 restaurants in the next decade, McDonald’s Vietnam said.

The second McDonald’s restaurant in HCM City.

Nguyen Huy Thinh, managing director of McDonald’s Vietnam, told reporters in HCMC on Monday that McDonald’s would focus on the HCMC market before reaching out to Hanoi.

Nearly three months after the first eatery came into service at 2-6 Bis Dien Bien Phu Street in HCMC’s District 1, McDonald’s will inaugurate a second facility in the city this Friday at 2-2A Tran Hung Dao Street in District 1, adjacent to the landmark Ben Thanh Market.

The new three-storey restaurant, which is known as McDonald’s Ben Thanh, can serve 260 guests at a time, or 90 seats fewer than the first, McDonald’s Da Kao.

Instead of offering the drive-thru service, McDonald’s Ben Thanh has a To-Go booth allowing customers to place orders without having to step inside the restaurant.

McDonald’s Da Kao reportedly served 400,000 customers in the first month of operations. Thinh said that the exact number of guests in the first three months had not been updated but said that business results went beyond expectations.

Thinh said a majority of McDonald’s customers were young in the initial time but the number of senior guests and family members were on the rise. Big Mac was the favorite, he added.

McDonald’s currently buys vegetables grown in the Central Highlands city of Dalat and has to import other ingredients. Thinh said McDonald’s was looking for more local suppliers.

Commenting on the target for 100 restaurants in Vietnam, Nguyen Bao Hoang, founder of Good Day Hospitality, the franchise holder of McDonald’s brand in Vietnam, said this was obtainable based on the fact that McDonald’s had around 400 restaurants in the Philippines, 260 in Malaysia and 195 in Thailand.

Source: SGT