McDonald’s stated it’s opening a brand new chain referred to as CosMc’s that may concentrate on espresso and different drinks, a step that’s considered as a problem to Starbucks and Dunkin’ because the fast-food large seeks to spice up afternoon gross sales. 

The corporate opened its first CosMc’s location in Illinois on Thursday, with plans to open further eating places in 2024. 

The rationale for the restaurant stems for the rising demand for an “afternoon beverage pick-me-up event,” a $100 billion market the place McDonald’s presently is not a robust presence, stated McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski, talking at an investor presentation on Wednesday. The brand new chain will permit the corporate to create custom-made drinks which are tough for McDonald’s eating places to create, he added. 

CosMc’s idea is “what would occur if a McDonald’s character from the Nineteen Eighties that was half alien, half surfer, half robotic” opened a restaurant in 2023, Kempczinski added.

What’s on CosMc’s menu?

The chain will embody new customizable drinks and McDonald’s favorites just like the Egg McMuffin, the CEO famous. 

A number of the espresso drinks that might be provided embody a churro frappe, a s’mores chilly brew and a tumeric-spiced latte, in accordance with the corporate. CosMc’s can even promote non-coffee drinks, together with a bitter cherry vitality burst, a blackberry mint inexperienced tea and a popping pear slush. 

The chain can even supply “candy and savory treats,” Kempczinski stated. These embody a spicy queso sandwich, a creamy avocado tomatillo sandwich, pretzel bites and caramel fudge brownies.

What sort of drink customizations will it have? 

McDonald’s stated CosMc’s will supply customizations together with popping boba, taste syrups and vitality and Vitamin C pictures.

The place are CosMc’s areas?

The primary location is in Bolingbrook, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, with about 10 further areas set to open in Texas in 2024, Kempczinski instructed buyers.

The primary CosMc opened to the general public on Thursday, situated off Weber Highway in Bolingbrook, in accordance with CBS Information Chicago. The opening drew throngs of consumers, resulting in lengthy strains of automobiles ready to put their orders on the drive-through. One buyer instructed CBS Chicago he waited three hours to get a frappe. 

It is not clear but whether or not CosMc’s will increase past the Illinois and Texas areas. The corporate stated it would examine the outcomes for no less than a yr earlier than figuring out whether or not so as to add extra areas.

McDonald’s additionally plans to check new applied sciences at its CosMc’s eating places, together with drive-thru lanes that handle visitors primarily based on the complexity of consumers orders. 

Is McDonald’s including extra of its personal eating places?

Sure, McDonald’s plans to open about 10,000 new shops worldwide by 2027 in what it anticipates would be the “quickest interval of progress” in its 60-year historical past, the corporate stated Wednesday.

“The large story is what [CosMc’s] says about McDonald’s and our potential,” Kempczinski stated on Wednesday. “To suppose a bit over a yr in the past, this was simply an thought. And this week, we’re opening the primary take a look at website. We’re innovating, testing and studying with pace.”

The growth comes as same-store gross sales jumped 8.1% within the third quarter, pushing the chain to hurry up the tempo of its restaurant openings. 

—With reporting by the Related Press.