Bermuda Bans Fast-Food Outlets

Seeking to preserve its Old World image, Bermuda has banned McDonald’s and other foreign fast-food restaurants from operating on the island.

Supporters of the legislation argued it would safeguard the tourist appeal of the British colony, where gambling is prohibited and the top speed limit is only 20 mph.

The issue was raised when a permit was granted for a McDonald’s outlet last year.

The overwhelming vote in Parliament Friday night also cut short reported plans for Pizza Hut and Taco Bell restaurants. “It’s been a long haul,” lawmaker Ann Cartwright DeCouto said. “Myself and my colleagues were righting a wrong.”

Some residents of Bermuda had developed a taste for Big Mac hamburgers when a McDonald’s operated here on a U.S. military base that closed in 1995.