McDonald’s Testing New Restaurant With No Walk-In Orders, 4 Drive-Thru Lanes

In a digital era, even restaurants have to adapt significantly there are already mobile order options for scheduled pick-ups and delivery services such as Uber Eats and Door Dash that allow for hungry customers to skip crowds and wait times to dine-in or drive-thru and enjoy a meal from their favorite restaurant at home. Now, McDonald’s is about to roll out their new innovation: a restaurant with no walk-in orders, just drive-thru lanes only. The New York Post reports the popular fast food spot is about to unveil a top-secret spinoff. “The emphasis is going to be on taking orders out as opposed to sitting down and eating there,” the Snackolator, an influencer who tries various snacks, postulated in a TikTok video. It’s received over 500k views thus far. The idea, named CosMc, was first announced in July by company CEO Chris Kempczinski. It is said to be based on the six-armed alien-robot hybrid character of the same name that relocated to the fictional world of McDonaldland after discovering McDonald’s burgers and fries. 

At the time of the announcement, Kempczinski disclosed that it was a “small-format concept with all the DNA of McDonald’s but its own unique personality.” It’s said to begin testing in early 2024. In the social media clip posted by the Snackulator, there’s a now-viral picture of a blue building with the CosMc’s logo on the side that’s being constructed in Bolingbrook, Illinois. In the video, the TikToker notes there are four drive-thru lanes being built next to a preexisting infamous Golden Arches. 

In the video, he predicts that CosMc’s would be a to-go concept as opposed to the traditional options now available. Regarding the menu, the TikToker notes: “The kind of conventional thinking is that this is going to be something of a competitor to like Starbucks, where it’s going to focus on the McCafe stuff and the coffee and the drinks as opposed to serving burgers and fries, which makes even more sense when you realize that this CosMc’s is being built directly next to an existing McDonald’s.”