Why McDonald's Is Already Closing Its Months-Old CosMc Locations

It wasn't long ago that McDonald's announced its expansion into its spin-off restaurant chain, CosMc's. But, after debuting its menu of new and familiar treats just last year, McDonald's is already retreating by closing three of its CosMc's locations — some of them just months-old. The drink-focused chain is the brand's entry into what it calls the "afternoon beverage pick me up occasion," and it opened its first test location in the Chicago suburb of Bolingbrook more than a year ago. Since then, McDonald's has converted some of its larger restaurants into CosMc's test locations, reaching a total of six more spread across the state of Texas. But, it seems that the chain took the saying "everything's bigger in Texas" a little too literally.

McDonald's has decided to close three of its six larger-scale Texas test locations, claiming that its smaller stores actually work better. While McDonald's hasn't specified exactly which test locations it is closing, it has confirmed it will be opening two new, smaller CosMc's test locations in their place. The tests are said to continue for the "foreseeable future," and while they've already brought the chain some valuable information — customers seem to enjoy the hash browns, no matter the time of day, and grabbing Churro Cold Brew Frappes and Sour Energy Bursts for their "afternoon beverage pick me ups" — the closures show McDonald's is still learning about its CosMc's customers.

Named after a six-armed alien character that appeared to come to earth just to get food from McDonald's in ads throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, CosMc's test locations are just as much of an extraterrestrial venture for McDonald's as they are for its other worldly mascot — and there's a ton for them to learn about the emerging fast-beverage sector. The "afternoon beverage pick me up occasion" is a trend that's been brewing for years, with customers leaning towards dessert-like options that are both customizable and portable. With choices like adding S'mores and sweet popping boba bursts to your cold brews, along with a selection of different lemonade and coffee flavors, CosMc's menu seems to hit the nail on the head. But, it's still unclear how far McDonald's plans to let it grow.

With just a handful of test locations across the country — and most of them in Texas — CosMc's is still a very small part of the burger chain's empire. While there is certainly the potential for it to continue to expand, McDonald's still has much to learn about its CosMc's customers before it can even begin to compete with the likes of Starbucks or Dunkin'. But, McDonald's ability to recognize and adapt to the needs of its CosMc's test locations, and the loyalty program it laid out for it last year, are certainly both good signs.