Seemingly out of nowhere, McDonald’s recently did something no one was expecting and no one was clamoring for the company to do: It created a spin-off restaurant called CosMc’s. What is it? Why is it? There are just so many questions that need to be answered here.
The first we heard of the new restaurant was back during an earnings call in July, when company CEO Chris Kempczinski said it will have “all the DNA of McDonald’s but its own unique personality.” Weirdly, the chain isn’t named after hot character of the moment Grimace, but an obscure character from the ’80s named CosMc.
CosMc is an orange alien who’s obsessed with bartering, and wants to take a picnic meal of McDonald’s food back to his home planet — until Ronald McDonald convinces him that it’s better to share.
What is CosMc’s?
Here’s what we know. In a 2022 earnings report, McDonald’s announced that it was going to keep focusing on the 3 magical Ds: delivery, digital and drive-thru. The report shared that the “vast majority of new restaurant openings in the U.S. and International Operated Market segments will include a drive thru.”
CosMc’s seems to be the culmination of that idea. Kempczinski said that it was time to focus on which way the market was heading, and that’s more digital ordering that hanging out inside the restaurant.
“A big reason that we can now look at [small formats] is because of the growth that’s happened with the digital and delivery where you don’t necessarily need the big dining rooms that you needed in our traditional restaurants,” Kempczinski said. “So you’re now able to look at real estate sites that previously would have been sort of off limits to us.”
There’s also the fact that McDonald’s is just, well, it’s just McDonald’s. You pretty much know what you’re going to get and while it’s incredibly popular, it’s not really offering people anything new. Instead of the traditional full menu, the new store will focus more on drinks and breakfast, and seems to be setting itself up to compete with Starbucks more.
Right now, there’s a CosMc’s in Bolingbrook, Illinois, or at least the facade of one.
What’s on the menu at CosMc’s?
The CosMc’s menu is, understandably, pretty different from the regular McDonald’s. According to Business Insider, the menu has a number of “adventures drinks” like the Sour Cherry Energy Blast, the Berry Hibiscus Sour-Ade, The Island Pick-Me-Up Punch, and the Blueberry Ginger Boost.
It also has some slushes and frappes, including a Churro Frappe and a Cold Brew Frappe. There’s also a Popping Pear Slush and Pomegranate Hibiscus Slush. Fancy! There are a number of sandwiches, including the legendary Egg McMuffin and Sausage McMuffin with Egg, as well as a Spicy Queso Sandwich. There’s also a sandwich that feels like millennial-bait: the Creamy Avocado Tomatillo Sandwich.
The logo for the restaurant is a single golden arch with a subtly Googie design – that post WWII design that married car culture with Jetsons-like futuristic architecture.