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McDonald’s is taking on Starbucks with its latest spinoff restaurant – a coffee shop

McDonald's new restaurant also has a silly name

Emily Caldwell
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Cos Mcs McDonalds
McDonald's

McDonald’s is entering a new game with the opening of their newest spinoff restaurant, CosMc’s, which opened on December 7th in Bolingbrook, Illinois. Unlike your typical fast food you’d expect from a McDonald’s-inspired menu, CosMc’s is intended to be more like a Starbucks, with a coffee-shop-inspired menu with exciting food and beverage options. This Starbucks rival is McDonald’s attempt to enter the specialty coffee chain industry without overwhelming its existing menu. After all, if you want a handcrafted coffee beverage, chances are McDonald’s isn’t the first place that comes to mind. But Starbucks might be.

The opening of CosMc’s

While the first CosMc’s location was opened in Illinois as a test for the company, McDonald’s has already announced its plans to open an additional nine locations by the end of 2024 in Texas. Interestingly enough, the name of CosMc’s is inspired by advertisements that aired in the late 1980s and early 1990s, which featured robot characters named CosMc. To go along with the robot and space vibe, the interior of each CosMc’s restaurant is designed with a futuristic space theme –which is a bit different from other coffee chains that are not themed, such as Starbucks or Dunkin’.

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Is the menu comparable to Starbucks?

Since the first location of CosMc’s opened, patrons have quickly learned what to expect on the menu from this newest addition to the McDonald’s universe. Like Starbucks, the menu includes handcrafted and customizable beverages in both coffee and non-coffee varieties. The general beverage categories are quite similar to Starbucks, including frappés, iced tea drinks, lemonades, brews, and more. The customizable aspects of these drinks, which include syrups, flavor shots, and more, seem on par with consumer demands to personalize all aspects of orders.

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Unlike Starbucks, however, it appears CosMc’s menu is slightly less coffee-heavy and more focused on fruity, refreshing beverages. Some examples of non-coffee menu items include the Blueberry Ginger Boost or the Island Pick-Me-Up Punch. If you do love coffee, there are still plenty of options to be had (both hot and iced), such as a classic Cappuccino or a more unique Churro Cold Brew Frappé.

Pouring cream in cold brew coffee
Magda Patsogianni / Pixabay

What this means for specialty drink lovers

If these coffee shops do well, CosMc’s could soon become a well-known name across the U.S. From unique blended coffee drinks like the S’mores Cold Brew to non-coffee drinks like the Sour Cherry Energy Burst — soon enough, we could all have another option of places to add to the list to get delicious specialty drinks.

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Emily Caldwell
Emily Caldwell
Contributor
Emily is a full time freelance writer with a special focus on health, fitness, lifestyle, food, and nutrition topics. She…
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