I have no idea what McDonald's is up to, but I'm intrigued. And if you live in Boilingbrook, Illinois, you're lucky enough to have the very first rendition of... whatever this is... in your town.

Is it a space-themed McDonald's? Is it some bougie, up-scale version of McDonald's? Or is it a publicity stunt that just got WAY out of hand? Let's talk about what we know.

Where is it?

McDonald's is building its first CosMc's location in Boilingbrook, Illinois, which is just southwest of Chicago, but still in the metropolitan area. It's an interesting, and seemingly random location to open a beta-test restaurant, but it does actually make some sense.

McDonald's worldwide headquarters are in Chicago, so Boilingbrook is only a short distance from "Hamburger University," in downtown Chicago. This makes for a short commute for the corporate heads to check in on their latest creation.

Why CosMc's?

If you were a fan of McDonald's in the late 1980s, then "CosMc" might sound familiar. He was a character created for a 1987 commercial.

CosMc, the six-armed alien, who lives inside its spaceship (and wears Chuck Taylor's?) comes down to Earth, and is introduced to a McDonald's meal when Ronald McDonald, and his friends stumble upon him randomly in a park.

The commercial is a minute long, and now, McDonald's has decided that was enough to base an entire spin-off restaurant around him.

But WHY are they doing this? Well, McDonald's might be trying to capture a mix of nostalgia, and viral marketing, similar to what they got when they released the Grimace Birthday Shake earlier in 2023.

What will CosMc's Be?

By all accounts, and some sneaky images taken of the drive-thru menu, it appears that CosMc's will be a breakfast-centric restaurant, similar to a Dunkin' or Tim Horton's. They'll focus mostly on specialty coffee drinks, and lemonades, as well as breakfast sandwiches, and some snack items.

McDonald's CEO briefly spoke about the restaurant, saying...

"[It's] a small format concept with all the DNA of McDonald's but its own unique personality."

More details are expected to be released later in the week, following the company's investor day conference. They also say they'll consider testing more CosMc's locations later in 2024.