New Yorkers will soon have a new option for their fast-food cravings: blini from Russia's Teremok chain.
Teremok, which serves pancakes to some 30 million customers annually in Moscow, St. Petersburg and a handful of other Russian cities, is expected to open two outlets in midtown Manhattan this fall, the Bloomberg news agency reported Monday.
Teremok's expansion into the United States would make it the first Russian fast-food chain to venture into the American market. The founder of the chain, Mikhail Goncharov, told Bloomberg he expects the opening of each American outlet to cost up to $250,000.
It was not immediately clear to what extent Teremok would adapt its menu to suit American tastes, but Goncharov said that blini with maple syrup would be available at the U.S. outlets.
Items on the menu of Teremok's New York outlets are expected to cost between $4 and $10.
Blini — thin crepes with a variety of fillings, savory or sweet — are Teremok's specialty. The chain brands itself as a champion of traditional Russian cuisine and has named some of the items on its menu after Russian folk heroes.
The chain, which was founded in 1998, also serves borshch, pelmeni, buckwheat and other staples of Russian cuisine.