McDonald’s brand-new restaurant chain CosMc’s has only been open for a few days, but it’s already stirring up quite a fast-food frenzy.
This highly-anticipated new restaurant concept—named after a six-armed alien who appeared in McDonald’s ads in the 1980s and 1990s—was first announced back in July. Details about CosMc’s were sparse in the months that followed the announcement, but the very first location finally opened last Thursday in Bolingbrook, Ill. According to local reports, customers have been flocking there in droves to get a first taste.
The Chicago Sun-Times, citing a McDonald’s spokesperson, reported that cars began lining up outside the restaurant as early as 3:30 a.m. on Dec. 8, even though the location doesn’t open until 6 a.m. By noon that day, 150 cars were queuing in a massive line that stretched down the road and wrapped around a nearby shopping plaza.
CosMc’s workers bundled up in yellow coats were standing outside to help guide cars. Police officers eventually stepped in to help direct traffic, according to the Sun-Times. The wait times lasted a whopping two and a half hours for some customers, but that wasn’t enough to deter the determined.
One customer, Kevin Jackson, told the Sun-Times that he ran low on gas halfway through the line and had to leave to refuel. But after a gas station pit stop, he still got back in line.
“It’s worth it,” he said. “It’s probably better to go today than any of the other days. Most people are probably at work today.”
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Another trio of customers waiting in another car also told the publication that they were content to wait as long as it took to get to the front.
CosMc’s differs from a traditional McDonald’s restaurant because it focuses heavily on beverages. It serves a wide range of coffees, teas, lemonades, and blended drinks, many of which can be customized with flavor syrups, energy shots, Vitamin C shots, and even popping boba. There’s also a limited selection of food, including some classic McDonald’s items like McMuffin breakfast sandwiches and brand-new options like a Spicy Queso Sandwich and Pretzel Bites.
Despite the long wait times since the opening, the CosMc’s ordering process is meant to be very streamlined and speedy. The Bolingbrook restaurant features four drive-thru lanes where customers place their orders and wait while their drinks and food are prepared inside. Customers are then assigned specific a pickup window where they can grab their order once it’s ready. While mobile ordering is not available yet, it’s expected to become available in the next few weeks, the Chicago Tribune reported.
McDonald’s plans to open nine more CosMc’s locations by the end of 2024 in Texas’ Dallas-Fort Worth and San Antonio metro areas. But if the grand opening of the Bolingbrook CosMc’s is any indication, customers in those areas should come prepared to see very lengthy wait times.
Zoe Strozewski
Zoe Strozewski is a News Writer for Eat This, Not That! A Chicago native who now lives in New Jersey, she graduated from Kean University in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. Read more about Zoe
