McDonald’s to open first spin-off beverage-led format CosMc’s this week: CosMc’s, the new, small-format, beverage-led restaurant concept from McDonald’s, will open its first site in the US this week, as the fast-food chain looks to take a piece of the $100bn (£79.6bn) specialty beverage category. The first location, opening in December, is located in Bolingbrook, Illinois, and is part of a limited test run. By the end of 2024, McDonald’s plans to open approximately ten CosMc’s pilot locations, including sites in the Dallas-Fort Worth and San Antonio metro areas of Texas. McDonald’s said CosMc’s menu is “rooted in beverage exploration, with bold and unexpected flavour combinations, vibrant colours and functional boosts”. CosMc’s is also set to offer what McDonald’s calls a “seamless digital and drive-thru experience,” where customers can use a dynamic menu board and cashless payment devices to “breeze through” ordering and payment processes. Drive-thru pickup windows will be assigned once your order is ready. The name for the new brand comes from CosMc, a McDonaldland mascot who appeared in advertisements in the late 1980s and early 1990s. CosMc is an alien from outer space who craves McDonald’s food. McDonald’s is positioning CosMc’s as a fast, convenient way to grab a pick-me-up snack or coffee. McDonald’s chief executive Chris Kempczinski told investors: “We asked what would happen if a McDonald’s character that was part alien, part surfer and part robot would open a restaurant in 2023. This is a $100bn category growing faster than the rest of the (informal eating-out segment) and with superior margins. Let me emphasise again, we’re talking about ten stores. The big story isn’t about CosMc’s, per se. The big story is what it says about McDonald’s and our potential. To think a little over a year ago, this was an idea, and this week we’re opening the first test site.” He also hinted that if successful it could be expanded internationally. Kempczinski said: “It’s not worth our time to develop an idea that will only work in one market. This won’t work unless it can work across multiple markets.” The format will feature a line of customisable beverages that are unique to the brand. It includes specialty lemonades, teas, blended beverages and cold coffee, along with energy drinks such as the sour cherry energy slush. Customers can customise these beverages with flavourings, boba or energy shots. Flavours include a churro frappe, s’mores cold brew and a blueberry ginger boost. The concept has a limited menu but includes McMuffin sandwiches and the McFlurry, plus unique items such as the creamy avocado tomatillo sandwich and the spicy queso sandwich.

 

Comptoir Group secures Royal Festival Hall site: Comptoir Group, the Comptoir Libanais and Shawa operator, is to open a new restaurant at the Southbank Centre, London. Propel understands that the Nick Ayerst-led business has acquired the former Le Pain Quotidien site opposite the entrance of the Royal Festival Hall. The restaurant is expected to open around Easter 2024. Comptoir Libanais’ 23rd restaurant will feature 135 covers internally and a 48-cover outside seating area and will offer an all-day menu to eat in or takeaway. Tony Kitous, founder of the Comptoir Group, said: “We are proud to be a part of the fabric of London’s diverse culinary landscape as we open the doors of another new restaurant, this time in London’s South Bank. We are excited to have the opportunity to continue to share the flavours and cultural richness that have won the hearts of our guests, in an environment that captures the essence of Middle Eastern heritage”. In October, the business returned to the expansion trail after opening on the former Bread Street Café site in London's Ealing Broadway. Ayerst, chief executive, said: “Following the successful recent opening in Ealing, we are pleased to announce the continued strategic growth in an area of London we have long desired to be in. The location on the South Bank captures an immensely high footfall of both workers, visitors and tourists who we know will be hungry for our well-loved authentic Middle Eastern food and culture.” Brandon Elmon, of Genius1 Group, acted on the Southbank Centre deal.

Brits no longer eating three meals a day: For centuries it has been drilled into Brits to sit down to three square meals a day: breakfast, lunch and dinner. But hybrid working patterns and the strains of modern life mean they are ditching tradition in favour of regular snacking, reports The Times. Almost a third (30%) of the nation sits down for two meals a day and replaces the third with snacks, a survey for the Waitrose Food and Drink report found. For others, days are blurring into one long meal: 10% said they ate only one meal a day and grazed the rest of the time. A further 1% said they simply grazed all day. Splitting work between home and the office was partly responsible, the ­report said. Some 43% of those who work from home admitted nipping into the kitchen and helping themselves to snacks throughout the day. Researchers, who questioned 2,000 adults of all ages, also found that 9% ate while walking or commuting. The most popular time to snack was after 3pm (43%), followed by the noon to 3pm slot, which suggested that people were skipping lunch. Among the most popular snacks were crisps (eaten by 29%) cakes and biscuits (22%), chocolate (19%) and nuts or fruit and veget­ables (17%). The report said this had been the year of comfort food as some 32% of respondents said they regularly tucked into old favourites such as shepherd’s pie and macaroni cheese.