[英语阅读]冰岛民众争享“最后的麦当劳”

Thousands line up for last Big Mac in Iceland

受金融危机影响，全球快餐巨头麦当劳决定从11月1日起关闭在冰岛的所有门店，并且表示没有再回冰岛开店的计划。自消息公布以来，大批冰岛民众蜂拥至麦当劳各家门店，排队抢购各式汉堡，其招牌产品“巨无霸”汉堡甚至一度脱销。在冰岛运作的麦当劳快餐店，大部分物料，包括产品包装、肉类、蔬菜、芝士和各种独特酱汁等，都必须从德国进口。冰岛克朗（冰岛货币）汇价的大幅走贬，对于原料主要依靠进口的冰岛麦当劳来说，势必会陷入经营困境。

A stack of McDonald's Big Macs and French Fries. Iceland's two McDonald's restaurants closed on November 1 due to rising costs brought on by the country's economic collapse, the Icelandic operator of the US fast-food chain said on Monday.

Thousands of Icelanders lined up at McDonald's restaurants to order their last Big Macs before the U.S. fast-food chain abandons the crisis-hit island at midnight Saturday due to soaring costs.

The world's largest fast-food company said earlier this week that all three of its restaurants in Iceland, operated by franchisee Jon Ogmundsson, would shut down October 31.

The outlets have been packed since the announcement, with lines at one restaurant on the east side of the city backing up out the door and onto the street.

At lunchtime Friday the outlet's parking lot was full and staff inside were working furiously to keep up with the soaring demand.

"It's my last chance for a while to have a real Big Mac," Siggi, a 28-year old salesman waiting in line, told Reuters.

"With the economy as it is, I won't be traveling abroad any time soon," he added. "It's not that I'm a big fan of McDonald's, but a Big Mac now and then adds to variety."

Ogmundsson, who will continue running the restaurants under a different name after taking down the golden arches, said he had even run out of Big Macs for a few hours Thursday.

"Sales have not just gone up," Ogmundsson was quoted saying in the local media. "It's gone turbo."

Ogmundsson said he managed to catch up with the surge in demand and had been selling about 10,000 burgers a day -- more than ever before.

Iceland has been reeling from the effects of the financial crisis since October 2008, when its banks collapsed in the space of a week under the weight of billions of dollars in debt.

The fall of the banks sapped confidence in Iceland's economy and sent its currency, the crown, into freefall. McDonald's said the crown's weakness was part of the reason for its withdrawal.

McDonald's requires all resources for its restaurants, including packaging, meat, vegetables and cheese, to be imported. The Icelandic market is too small to produce the required products.

Ogmundsson said the restaurants imported their goods from Germany, but costs had doubled because the country's falling krona currency had made imports prohibitively expensive.

McDonald's said it would not seek to come back to Iceland.

In a nearby stationary store, Thora Sigurdardottir, a 35-year old nursing assistant, said she had no intention of going for a final McDonald's meal.

"Good riddance," she said.