Inside McDonald’s new Illinois CosMc’s: DailyMail.com visits new store to sample its unusual range of products – including a $5.89 Sour Cherry Energy Burst and $4.99 Creamy Avocado Tomatillo Sandwich!

By James On Dec 8, 2023

McDonald's super fans queued up this morning to try the new food and drinks at the new CosMc restaurant – and DailyMail.com tested some of the brand new items.

The highly anticipated spin-off store in Bolingbrook, Illinois, opened its doors Thursday to welcome local Mayor Mary Alexander-Basta. But eagle-eyed locals spotted it was open and joined the line at the drive-thru restaurant.

The new brand – named after the chain's alien mascot from the 1980s and early 1990s – looks to rival Starbucks with its range of colorful drinks, including a Churro Frappe, Popping Pear Slush and a Berry Hibiscus sour-ade. Food items include the spicy queso sandwich and the creamy avocado tomatillo sandwich.

DailyMail.com went to the outlet to try the new food and drinks, where the wait time was between ten and twenty minutes.

Our photographer sampled the $4.99 creamy avocado-tomatillo sandwich. He said: 'The sandwiches were fine for fast food. If I had to choose between this and the sausage McMuffin, I would go with this one. It is certainly tastier and perhaps a bit healthier.

McDonald's super fans queued for the opening of the new CosMc restaurant this morning after menu details were revealed yesterday

The new brand – named after the chain's alien mascot from the 1980s and early 1990s – looks to rival Starbucks with its range of colorful drinks

DailyMail.com headed to the outlet to try the new food and drinks, including the $4.99 Spicy Queso Sandwich, pictured

'It was a good size too. Normally, sandwiches from fast food restaurants are smaller and look quite sad in real life compared to the pictures. But not in this case.

“I tried the sour cherry drink. I don't normally drink such a colorful drink, but I liked it. I've had the blueberry ginger boost, I can see it being nice and refreshing in the summer.'

Yesterday, retail experts speculated that the chain appears to be targeting the “TikTok” generation, which regularly helps Starbucks' seasonal drinks go viral.

Retail expert Neil Saunders from consultancy GlobalData told DailyMail.com: 'McDonald's is definitely targeting the TikTok generation. The marketing is all very social media friendly – it's very crazy and colorful. And it's very different from the traditional, old McDonald's brand.”

He added: “Starbucks is certainly one of the chains it is targeting. The CosMc offers McDonald's greater opportunities in the on-the-go beverages and snacks market.”

Our photographer sampled the $4.99 creamy avocado-tomatillo sandwich. He said: 'The sandwiches were fine for fast food. If I had to choose between McDonald's sausage McMuffin, I'd go for this one.”

Yesterday, retail experts speculated that the chain appears to be targeting the 'TikTok' generation – which regularly helps Starbucks' seasonal drinks go viral. Pictured: the Spicy Queso sandwich

Today the wait time was ten to twenty minutes for food and drinks, but McDonald's pointed out that the cafe wasn't actually open.

A source says: 'Strangely enough, we weren't actually open today. We were open to having the local mayor try it along with some staff. But we have decided: we will not turn away curious customers.'

In fact, there will only be a so-called 'soft opening' on Friday where CosMc's will test how it serves customers while refining things.

The current CosMc's are drive-thru only. It has four ordering stations, where customers call in their order, wait for a counter where they can drive up and go there to pick it up.

McDonald's is currently experiencing the fastest growth period in its more than 60-year history, with 10,000 new restaurants planned worldwide by 2027.

It comes after a period of strong growth for the company, which saw same-store sales increase globally by almost 9 percent in the third financial quarter of 2023.

Today the wait time was ten to twenty minutes for food and drinks, but McDonald's pointed out that the cafe wasn't actually open. Pictured: part of the new CosMc menu

The store will have a so-called 'soft opening' on Friday where CosMc's will test how it serves customers while fine-tuning things

It reflects the massive expansion of Starbucks, which announced last month that it expects to have 55,000 stores worldwide by 2030, up from 38,000 now.

McDonald's made a host of other major announcements on Wednesday, including a partnership with Google Cloud aimed at improving its automated services.

It also aims to have 250 million active loyalty program users by 2027, up from 150 million today.

Meanwhile, the McCrispy chicken sandwich will reach almost all of the chain's markets by the end of 2025.

McDonald's saw its profits rise by almost 17 percent to $2.32 billion in the third financial quarter of 2023.

Executives said profits were boosted by “strategic menu price increases.”