McDonald’s just opened the doors to it’s test spin-off restaurant called Cosmc’s in Chicago on December 7th to much fanfare, and a line that wrapped it’s way around the building with two-hour wait times, and even some impatient customers trying to bribe their way to the front of the line.
The new fast causal restaurant sets itself apart from McDonald’s by focusing on coffee, and drinks. In fact, there’s not one burger in sight. Instead the spin-off is coming from a more Starbucks-style approach, existing for pick-me-up centered solutions as people go about their day.
Right now there’s only the one location outside of Chicago with no plans for more until McDonald’s sees how the people respond.
McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski described the concept for Cosmc’s as “what would happen if a McDonald’s character from the 1980s that was part alien, part surfer, part robot and opened a restaurant in 2023”.
Menu Highlights
- Iced Teas
- Lemonade
- McFlurry’s
- McPops
- Brews ( like the S’mores Cold Brew)
- Spicy Queso Sandwich
- Galactic Energy Boosts (energy drinks)
- Egg, Bacon, and Sausage McMuffin
- Creamy Avocado Tomatillo Sandwich
With a few staple breakfast sandwiches, centering on eggs and sausage, avocados and cheese…the location is going for the basics.
“Think of it as an out-of-this-world solution for the 3 p.m. slump,” the company said on Wednesday, describing the CosMc’s launch.
Even “influencers”, and anyone with a social media account and a camera phone came out looking for a viral video to make their mark.
Will Cosmc’s succeed like their parent chain McDonald’s? Or is this just a one off, flash in the pan trend?
McDonald’s has raised prices over the past year but it hasn’t hurt business so far with sales being up by about 8.8%. Customers are taking notice however and there has been much vocal complaints on social media. McDonald’s even recently announced a bigger, cheaper burger coming to the menu…possibly to appease customers looking for more value?
