It can take the company two or even three times as long to open an outlet in California than in Arizona, for instance.

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According to the AFP news agency, McDonald's will open the outlet in the middle of next year, near the Golden Temple in the Sikh holy city of Amritsar in northern India.

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The company will also open a second outlet of its Asian-cuisine venture, ShopHouse Kitchen, in Los Angeles, in the first half of 2013 itself.

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