A year-and-a-half after launching its spin off CosMc’s restaurants focused on beverages, McDonald’s is shuttering them all.
McDonald’s on Friday announced that it is closing the handful of CosMc’s locations it has left in the US by the end of next month.
‘We’ve learned so much, so quickly from the CosMc’s test,’ stated McDonald’s on its corporate website.
‘As part of this next testing phase, starting in late June, we will be closing all stand-alone pilot CosMc’s locations on a rolling basis and discontinuing the CosMc’s app.’
McDonald’s opened the first CosMc’s in late 2023 with a menu featuring beverages appearing to rival competitors like Starbucks, and a small selection of the fast food chain’s classics like McMuffins and McFlurries.
The first CosMc’s served customers in Bolingbrook, Illinois, and others popped up across Texas.
‘What started as a belief that McDonald’s had the right to win in the fast-growing beverage space quickly came to life as a multi-location, small format, beverage-focused concept,’ stated the company.
‘It allowed us to test new, bold flavors and different technologies and processes – without impacting the existing McDonald’s experience for customers and crew.’
McDonald’s stated that CosMc’s was a ‘Learning Lab’ that also allowed employees test and adjust its service with customers.
‘Quick adds and edits to the menu based on feedback led to more focused choices for our fans as the test continued,’ said the company.
While the CosMc’s locations are going away, some of their drinks are not. Beverages inspires by the spin off will be added to menus at hundreds of McDonald’s across the country as part of an upcoming ‘test’.
‘Building on the insights gained from the pilot standalone locations, CosMc’s-inspired flavors will be landing at McDonald’s as part of the upcoming US beverage test, seamlessly blending out of this world tastes into the McDonald’s experience,’ stated the company.
‘With our new dedicated category team focused on beverages, we know we can bring more delicious and innovative drinks to more fans.’
McDonald’s began downsizing CosMc’s in January, when it closed three of the six in Texas.
As of Friday, there were five CosMc’s remaining, including the original one in Bolingbrook. The four others are in Texas, with two in San Antonio, one in Forth Worth and one in Allen.
