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McDonald's goes north
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December 5, 1997: 2:25 p.m. ET
New restaurant opens in Arctic Circle, near traditional home of elves
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CHICAGO (CNNfn) - McDonald's Corp. announced the opening of its northernmost restaurant Friday, located in Rovaniemi, Finland, within the Arctic Circle.
In a release, the company said that Rovaniemi, which is recognized in Finland as "the official home of Santa Claus," hosts about 500,000 visitors annually, with most arriving near the Christmas holiday.
The restaurant's grand opening ceremonies took place outdoors in Lapland's winter darkness and sub-zero temperatures, a primal scene illuminated by roaring bonfires.
"We're delighted that Santa Claus and his elves will now be among the 35 million customers we serve every day at McDonald's restaurants around the world," said Jim Cantalupo, president and CEO of McDonald's International.
"Since this restaurant is the closest to the North Pole, we hope this will become Santa's favorite neighborhood restaurant."
McDonald's has 23,000 restaurants in 106 countries, with the southernmost located in Invercargill, New Zealand.
The company has stated that "paying attention to local culture is one way McDonald's strives to serve the communities of the world" with restaurants being tailored to suit local dietary tastes and restrictions.
For example, restaurants in Saudi Arabia are built with separate seating areas to allow men and women to eat apart from one another, while McDonald's India offers not only an extensive vegetarian menu but also burgers made from neither beef (offensive to Hindus) or pork (offensive to Muslims) but lamb.
McDonald's did not indicate whether the Rovaniemi restaurant would include special menu items for the local elf population, or if so, what those might be.
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McDonald's
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