McDonald's McCafe

It's old news that McDonald's has had a major turnaround in recent years.  Their focus on healthy food items, and strategic marketing strategies have helped them retain an attractive blue-chip status for many investers around the globe.  Now, they are really stepping things up.  Last March, the fast food chain took the #1 spot in the Consumer's Report Magazine for best coffee...beating out new offerings from Dunkin Donuts, and BurgerKing.  Moreover, they beat out coffee mammoth Starbucks.  The magazine called the fast food giant’s Premium Roast “cheapest and best.”

Now, in the spirit of all things coffee, the chain is adding lattes, mochas and an ice-blended frappé to its menus, plus a broader range of "grab and go" beverages such as iced tea, smoothies and bottled drinks.  Think of the potential.  Will college kids start filling out the usually vacant plastic seats at these cheesy hamburger joints?  Possibly.  As Starbucks has grown into the beast it is, it has lost along the way the very "hip coffee joint" vibe that made it so popular in the first place.  It is rare that you are able to walk into one and find a quiet spot to jam out to your Radiohead these days while studying Kant.  Maybe McDonald's really will be the new hip spot for the acadamia.  Study breaks could take place in the plastic ball pits, and there would be no more need for late night fueling runs.  The cafe's are already popular in Japan, and are no doubt giving re-instated Howard Schultz (CEO of Starbucks) a headache.