The global fast-food company, Burger King, has reached a franchise agreement with the Estonian company, Tallink, to open its eateries in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, which are among the few countries in Europe that so far don’t have any Burger King joints.
The Estonian shipping company, Tallink, which launched the first floating Burger King eatery on board a cruise ship in 2016, has now acquired the exclusive development rights for the Baltic countries. Tallink plans to open many joints across Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania with the first one in Estonia set to open this winter, Burger King said in a statement.
According to the development agreement, the term of each licence for its eateries opened will be for 20 years. The company plans to open its first Burger King in Tallinn this winter and the first restaurants in Latvia and Lithuania in the first half of 2020, according to Burger King.
Nearly 800 new jobs
Tallink said in a statement that it would create a total of “nearly 800 news jobs” in the Baltic states.
“Tallink made history already in 2016 when the world’s first floating Burger King restaurant was opened on Star,” Paavo Nõgene, the CEO of Tallink, said, referring to one of the companies ships that runs between Tallinn and Helsinki, the Finnish capital.
“Now we are making history again, bringing the iconic true American-style Whopper burger as well as the rest of the popular Burger King products to the people of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.”
Second-largest hamburger chain in the world
To operate the Burger King joints, Tallink has established a wholly owned subsidiary, Tallink Fast Food.
Burger King was founded in 1954 and it’s the second-largest fast food hamburger chain in the world after McDonald’s. Its franchises include 18,000 locations in more than 100 countries, according to the company.
Tallink is one of the leading providers of passenger transport and cargo transport services in the northern part of the Baltic Sea region. The company owns 14 vessels and operates seven ferry routes under the brand names of Tallink and Silja Line.
Cover: Burger King burgers (Facebook).
