Ever since its creation McDonald’s has always been an innovator in the industry from the first walk up counter, to the creation of new foods like Chicken Nuggets and more. To this very day, McDonald’s is very well known for fast, convenient, affordable and consistent food. While they do serve breakfast and coffee, have you ever thought about McDonald’s as solely a coffee shop? Well now you officially can!

In 2023, McDonald’s began teasing it was creating a new restaurant concept centered around nostalgic mascots and beverages. Flash forward to late 2023, McDonald’s made a huge announcement that shook the entire internet and decade fans of the chain. It was actually opening its new concept and naming it CosMc’s. 

So what exactly is CosMc’s and what is all the buzz about? CosMc’s is a new small-format, beverage-led concept whose menu is built around bold, refreshing beverages and tasty treats that are “truly out of this world”. 

In a press release, McDonald’s described its new concept by saying it “seamlessly blends brand-new, otherworldly beverage creations with a small lineup of food, including a select few McDonald’s favorites – all designed to boost your mood into the stratosphere, if only for a few moments”. 

As we can clearly see from several press releases, it is clear McDonald’s is getting creative with a space/universe theme and branding the new restaurant as part of the McDonald’s Universe. I think this is a very clever way to brand the restaurant and is highly creative. It reminds me how superhero shows are now when the shows and story lines are in the same “universe”. 

Taking a look at the menu, we can see the menu is heavily centered around beverages, coffees, specialty drinks and smaller pick me up food items. Examples include Sour Cherry Energy Slush, Tropical Spiceade and S’mores Cold Brew. Much like Dunkin or Starbucks, the chain also offers addons for drinks like popping boba, flavor syrups, energy or Vitamin C shots, and so much more.

Food wise, we can see the menu is very streamlined and only features two sandwiches, lots of baked goods, ice cream (hopefully the machines actually work…). The menu also offers a few classic McDonald’s classics such as the Egg McMuffin sandwiches and the M&Ms McFluffy. 

Considering this is supposed to be competition to Starbucks, I have to say I was expecting to see more new sandwich options or possibly some wraps. Seems as though many of the items are recycled from McDonald’s and there are not as many new offerings. Perhaps since this is a test run, the menu will grow in the future once the concept takes off. I can not see this chain even trying to compete with Starbucks with the limited food menu it does have. Hopefully we’ll see a few more options added or at least some seasonal menu items introduced before the concept expands further.

CosMc’s is starting small with its first and only location as of now in Bolingbrook, Illinois. By the end of 2024, 10 additional locations are planned for the Dallas-Fort Worth and San Antonio metro areas. The company hopes to grow this number if all is successful with the test pilot locations.

I am very glad that they did not decide to go full on boring and go with McCafe which is their current in house coffee concept some locations have. I am glad they are branching out and trying something new. It’ll definitely be interesting to see what happens with the McCafe concept if CosMc’s really takes off. Could we maybe see co-branded CosMc’s and McDonald’s locations soon? Only time will tell!