Oh, but it’s CosMc, presumably pronounced “cosmic,” because Starbucks. It’s like a bad movie/video game attempt to make a satirical reference to Starbucks… it’s very weird.
The more details I read, the more I wondered if this was not, in fact, a joke.
I think that’s what a “coffee shop” is now. Seems like Starbucks and its imitators are primarily vendors of dessert drinks, some of which might have coffee in them.
Yeesh, such an abundance of sugar
“What would happen if a McDonald’s character from the 1980s that was part alien, part surfer, part robot”
I mean which of us hasn’t thought that?
Starbucks has always roasted coffee beans more than I like, but they are consistent. If you find a particular set of instructions that produces a starbucks drink you like it will work at basically all starbucks. So if I’m somewhere I don’t know Starbucks can be a good choice. If I’m in a town I’ll be visiting a lot the local coffee shops are the best.
Starbucks does have some pastries I like. The choc 
are nice. The “lemon slice” is good. The savory foods I’m less into (they have a “holiday sandwich” around thanksgivings thet I like).
McD’s coffee isn’t any better, it is not as consistent for some reason (odd as that was the bedrock McD’s was formed on!) and they are not as customizable so I can’t “trick” them into producing something I like. The pastries aren’t any good either, and oddly I’m not fond of the breakfasts there. I do really like the fries though. No idea if CosMc will have fries.
Is Starbucks even still a coffee shop? The menu seems to have very little of it anymore. It’s almost like you need to have the codeword to get basic staples.
I worked some a couple of years for Starbucks in two different locations, their standard offerings are average but will do most of the times, it’s just nothing to write home about. But their specialty coffee can be pretty excellent, there are times where you can ask for a tasting and if its not crazy busy you can sample some good stuff. It’s pretty expensive though and for that kind of money i’d rather go to a local roaster for fresher exceptional coffee.
In some parts of the country, Dunkin will be a much tougher nut to crack than Starbucks. Until I moved to New Jersey, I just thought of Dunkin as a donut shop, but up here, it’s at least as prevalent as Starbucks, and they have much better coffee. Their breakfast sandwiches suck, though. Stick with the donuts as far as food goes, Dunkin. Please.
Count me among those who prefer McDonald’s coffee to Starbucks. Starbucks has mistaken bitterness for flavor. I like a strong coffee flavor, but that doesn’t have to go hand-in-hand with bitterness to the point where you have to add a gallon of milk and a pound of sugar to make it drinkable.
I don’t know, i’ve had breakfast sammiches at both Dunkin and Starbucks, and Starbucks comparatively was more expensive for a tiny sandwich. And the cheddar or cheese bacon and egg whatever sandwich i recall having at Dunkin was great, cant speak to how good or bad any other offerings are though.
But i do agree that the real target here is not so much Starbucks but Dunkin, and i really don’t think they’re afraid of McD’s coming for them.
Perhaps the Dunkin near you is better than the one near me. Their sandwiches are better than Wawa’s, though. Ugh, those things are terrible. Oh, that’s the other competition on the East Coast. Wawa. The people who want cheap coffee are going to Wawa. The people who want good coffee that’s not outrageously expensive are going to Dunkin or McDonald’s. I swear I don’t know who goes to Starbucks here. People who don’t actually like coffee?
After nearly a half decade in Australia: they don’t have Starbucks. It cannot survive. McDonald’s coffee is good; it has to be. Every little food cart on every little corner has to be. You live and die by your coffee quality.
… then it would be competing with the McDonald’s franchises that already exist, which are already reaching every customer who wants tacky yellow plastic and a kiddie-show clown mascot 
And if you’re close enough to the northern border you’ve got Tim Hortons. Where I’m located you’d need to drive at least 30 minutes to find a Starbucks.
Here in Australia, McDonald’s launched McCafe in 1993, and Starbucks was late to the party. Starbucks hasn’t broken out of Sydney / Melbourne / Brisbane major shopping malls and downtown office centres. Perth, a city of around 2M people, has zero Starbucks presence. McCafes are everywhere, and they’re not bad.
The rumour is that McCafe simply beat Starbucks to the market, and Starbucks a) isn’t different enough to distinguish itself, and b) is realistic enough to avoid going to go toe-to-toe with McDonald’s in a retail fight.
ETA: @eccentriccog , I owe you a carbonated beverage. Or a coffee. 
Also, what you said:
Yes. I moved to Australia in 2005, and it’s fair to say: before 2005 I loved coffee and had never tasted a great coffee. It was a real eye-opener. “Holy moley, what was I drinking before?”
They don’t serve great coffee at McCafe, but it’s good and it’s consistent.
I think it comes down to getting repeat customers based on that caffeine+sugar addiction. I have simple tastes for coffee, I’m fine grinding my own coffee at home and making a pot of coffee, if i want to be fancy i get a chai or a thai tea but it’s like… once or twice a year 
I keep meaning to try making my own chai from scratch but i’ve been lazy as far as getting the spices to make my own masala for it.
<insert why not both here>
That’s like Starbucks sugar drinks with even more child-friendly colors and sugar.
I’m very much a fan of McDonald’s regular black coffee but as the French would say about these new drinks… “c’est magnifique… mais ce n’est pas le cafe”
