Bolingbrook, Illinois to Inaugurate the First Spinoff Restaurant of McDonald’s – CosMc

Fast-Food giant McDonald’s new spinoff brand – CosMc will open its first location at Bolingbrook, Illinois this week. 

The fast food joint plans to open 10 CosMc’s locations, including nine restaurants in Texas, by the end of 2024 in a test. McDonald’s will then spend a year analyzing data to decide whether it will expand the small-format chain.

The company has leaned more into marketing its mascots after seeing success with the Grimace Birthday Meal earlier this year. And based on the reports the name for the new brand comes from CosMc, a McDonald land mascot that appeared in advertisements in the late 1980s and early 1990s. CosMc is an alien from outer space who craves McDonald’s food.

The burger chain restaurant revealed the creation of CosMc’s as a spinoff in July this year. Photos of the Bolingbrook location surfaced on X, formerly known as Twitter, earlier this week.

With a menu that includes old favorites such as Egg McMuffins and M&M McFlurries, and new items such as Churro Frappes and pretzel bites, McDonald’s is positioning CosMc’s as a fast, convenient way to grab a pick-me-up snack or coffee.

“When 3 p.m. hits, and you need a boost, take a trip to CosMc’s,” a narrator said in a video shown to investors on Wednesday. McDonald’s specifically set out to create a brand that could sell customizable drinks and coffee popular in the afternoon segment.

“This is a $100 billion category growing faster than the rest of the (informal eating-out segment) and with superior margins,” McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski told investors.

According to a source, CosMc’s restaurants will have a smaller real-estate footprint than a typical McDonald’s location, but the new locations are testing a range of layouts, including multiple drive-thru lanes. Customers using credit cards will also be able to pay at the drive-thru speaker, speeding up service times.

Kempczinski emphasized that the 10 stores to be released across USA is a test to find out its true potential. If the test works out, CosMc’s could open across the globe. 

“It’s not worth our time to develop an idea that will only work in one market,” Kempczinski said when explaining why McDonald’s created the brand.