Society

São Paulo and the Art of Queuing

Picture the scene. It’s 7 pm on a Friday night on Avenida Paulista, the iconic São Paulo street often referred to as Brazil’s answer to Times Square. You see a queue snaking up the sidewalk and walk up for a closer look.

What could it be? Is this the line for a sold-out concert? No. Maybe there’s a problem with the subway, and people are queuing to get in? No, not that either. Is the world’s greatest chef offering a free dinner to their first one hundred customers? No, but you’re getting closer.

It’s McDonald’s.

The global fast-food chain has recently opened its 1,000th store in Brazil, renovating a 1940s mansion on Avenida Paulista and offering “exclusive” menu items, such as a spartan portion of onion rings for USD 3.50, and a quarter pounder served inside a weary-looking pão de queijo bun (USD 6.00).

The reaction on social media was one of shock, saying that it looked like a scene...

Euan Marshall

Originally from Scotland, Euan Marshall traded Glasgow for São Paulo in 2011. Specializing in Brazilian soccer, politics, and the connection between the two, he authored a comprehensive history of Brazilian soccer entitled “A to Zico: An Alphabet of Brazilian Football.”

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