"Opened as a beverage-focused pilot in December 2023 in a repurposed Boston Market in Bolingbrook (about a 45-minute drive from Chicago), this drive-thru–only concept offered a menu without burgers or fries—featuring breakfast sandwiches, boba and coffee beverages such as a Popping Pear Slush and a yellow turmeric‑flavored latte that did not actually contain turmeric. The hyper-sweet drinks attracted hordes of customers and social-media influencers at launch, producing hours-long drive-thru lines that required local police and corporate security to manage. The concept expanded to four sites in Texas in 2024 but is now being shuttered, with its companion app slated for discontinuation on June 23; the company says some successful elements from the pilot may be folded into McDonald’s broader menus. The outlet’s outer-space theme was built around an obscure McDonald’s alien character from the 1980s." - Ashok Selvam