McCoffee
McDonalds competes with Starbucks in Silicon ValleyWill the Hamburglar steal some business away from Starbucks? Conrad Freeman hopes so.
He's opening the second McCafe in the country. It's McDonald's foray into the upscale coffee market.
Freeman's McCafe sits next to his McDonald's franchise in Silicon Valley, in the San Francisco area. Instead of Big Macs and fries, on Wednesday his McCafe workers will start serving skinny double mochas and roasted beef with balsamic vinegar on foccacia.
Freeman notes that yuppie moms take their kids to McDonald's, but don't find anything to order for themselves.
McCafe is also offering upgraded surroundings. No plastics benches here. The restaurant features plush loves seats and mood lighting. But Freeman notes they're not total coffee snobs. Instead of Starbucks-like sizes of tall, grande and venti, McCafe drinks will be offered in small, medium and large.
I'm reminded of a scheme I had a little while ago to make lots of money defeating Starbucks. I wanted to build coin-op (or debit card-friendly) robots that travel city streets dispensing inexpensive but strong coffee, kind of like automated ice cream trucks.
* Ray, 12/06/2003 11:39:44 AM
