CosMc's is a soon-to-be-defunct American fast food restaurant chain and a division of McDonald's. It launched on December 7, 2023, in Bolingbrook, Illinois. On March 19, 2024, a second location opened in Dallas, Texas. By the end of 2024, there were 4 locations in Texas with two additional locations already shut down. The rest of the locations will be shut down in June of 2025. The CosMc’s Brand includes McCafé products sold at each location, which are also sold at McDonalds locations.
History of CosMc's[]
Origin[]
The name CosMc originated as a McDonaldland character, appearing in McDonald's advertisements from 1986 to 1992.[1] It is an extraterrestrial who "craves McDonald's food."[2][3] In the 1990s, McDonald's tried to expand its business by buying Donatos Pizza, Boston Market and Chipotle Mexican Grill, but within a decade they had sold off their stakes.
Launch[]
The chain was announced in July 2023. The first CosMc's store opened on December 7, 2023 in the village of Bolingbrook, Illinois. The opening day saw a large queue of customers in the drive-thru which was the only way to order through the restaurant. CNN reported that the Bolingbrook location saw more than twice the number of visits for a typical McDonald's location, citing data from Placer.ai, with the customer base largely skewed to those aged 22–29.
At the time of launch, McDonald's planned to have ten operational stores, including nine in Texas by 2024. McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski said that the company would evaluate the ten stores as a "limited test”, adding "Let's not get too excited." In its first month, the store reportedly had twice the traffic of a regular McDonald's.
A new app and rewards program, CosMc’s Club, along with mobile ordering, was introduced in May 2024.
In early 2025, the company announced it would close three of its larger format locations and open two smaller locations in Texas.
Closure[]
McDonald's announced on May 23, 2025 that the CosMc's concept would sunset operations at all five remaining locations (four in Texas and one in Illinois.) The company indicated that starting one month later, the rewards program, mobile ordering and app would no longer function, and rolling closures of the physical locations would begin. Citing learnings from proofs of concepts at the pilot locations, they expect to introduce some of the most successful beverage concepts at several mainline McDonald's restaurants.
Operations[]
CosMc's is intended to sell afternoon snacks, drinks and coffee, and has been seen as an attempt by McDonald's to enter the United States coffee market and the growing market for drive-thru beverages. They also intend to focus on customizable drinks.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
TBA