1. McDonald’s readying a new concept?
Buried in a preview this week of McDonald’s new downtown Chicago headquarters was a tidbit that suggests the resurging giant is about to make the boldest move yet in its turnaround plan. Might it hatch a second restaurant brand as a development option?
The possibility wasn’t dashed by CEO Steve Easterbrook when he was pressed for details about how McDonald’s intends to fill the first floor of the new home office, which is located in one of Chicago’s prime dining destinations, the West Loop.
Easterbrook was quick to say that a restaurant is going into the ground floor. But follow-up questions about the particulars revealed the place might not be a McDonald’s.
“It’ll be a restaurant concept of some sort,” Easterbrook told the Chicago Sun-Times. “As we’ve got more details to share, we’ll share them.”
Experimenting with other growth vehicles would be a reversal of the direction McDonald’s took when it ran into trouble about 15 years ago. At one time, the company owned all or a piece of Chipotle, Fazoli’s, Pret a Manger, Boston Market and Donatos.