McDonald’s Spinoff CosMc’s Unveils First Menu

The first location of CosMc’s has opened, giving fans of McDonald’s a refreshed modern take on the iconic fast-food restaurant. The new restaurant format, currently in a test period by the Golden Arches, is meant to compete with the likes of Starbucks and Dunkin’, focusing primarily on breakfast foods, snacks, and beverages. The initial CosMc’s, located in Bolingbrook, Illinois, opened over the weekend and unveiled its initial slate of offerings.

Amongst the products available at CosMc’s are a classic Egg McMuffin, and a slew a new offerings developed solely for CosMc’s, such as a Spicy Queso Sandwich, a Creamy Avocado Tomatillo Sandwich, Pretzel Bites, Hashbrown Bites, and McPops, which appear to be frosting-stuffed doughnuts.

What is CosMc’s?

McDonald’s president Chris Kempczinski said during an investor’s call earlier this month the idea of CosMc’s was to launch a new brand capable of competing with other similar beverage stops.

“This is a $100 billion category that’s growing faster than the rest of (casual dining) and with superior margins. And it’s a space that we believe we have the right to win,” Kempczinski said during the call. CosMc locations will also serve snack-type foods that aren’t regularly at McDonald’s locations.

“Let me emphasize again, we’re talking about 10 stores,” he added. “The big story isn’t about CosMc’s, per se. The big story is what it says about McDonald’s and our potential. To think, a little over a year ago, this was an idea, and this week we’re opening the first test site.”

The idea was first revealed to the public during a June investor’s call, one where Kempczinski touted the smalled restaurant size compared to regular McDonald’s restaurants.

“CosMc’s is a small format concept with all the DNA of McDonald’s, but with its own unique personality,” Kempczinski said at the time. It was on that same call Kempczinski attributed higher-than-expected sales numbers to the success of the viral Grimace Shake campaign.