CosMc's

Did You Know?

• The chain carried 10 new beverages not available at regular McDonald's.
• CosMc's was intended to sell afternoon snacks and hot and cold drinks.

History

The name CosMc originally belonged to a McDonaldland alien from ads that ran between 1986 and 1992. This extraterrestrial character craved McDonald's food and would sometimes swipe it for his home planet, CosMcland, communicating through a blend of robotic noises and regular speech. In 2023, McDonald's shifted attention back to its classic mascots, and the Grimace Birthday Meal went viral online. Around the same time, the specialty coffee sector was expanding, and CEO Chris Kempczinski called it an "attractive and fast growing category."

CNN labeled CosMc's as McDonald's attempt to compete with Starbucks. The chain was first announced in July 2023, and the inaugural location opened on December 7, 2023, in Bolingbrook, Illinois. On opening day, a long line formed at the drive-thru, the only ordering option. CNN noted, using Placer.ai data, that this site attracted over double the visits of a typical McDonald's, with most customers between 22 and 29 years old.

McDonald's initially planned to have ten stores running, nine of them in Texas by 2024. Kempczinski described this as a "limited test" and cautioned against overhyping it. During its first month, the Bolingbrook store saw twice the traffic of a standard McDonald's. A dedicated app and loyalty program called CosMc's Club, plus mobile ordering, launched in May 2024. Early in 2025, McDonald's said it would shut three larger-format locations and open two smaller ones in Texas.

On May 23, 2025, the company announced that all five remaining CosMc's sites—four in Texas and one in Illinois—would close. One month later, the app, rewards program, and mobile ordering would stop working, and physical closures would begin gradually. McDonald's plans to introduce some of the most successful beverage ideas from the pilot into regular restaurants. Kempczinski explained the shutdown by pointing to brand contradiction, a lack of customer experience, and significant revenue and sales losses.