McCafé opens new concept store in Canada

McDonald's is rolling out its standalone McCafé stores in Canada with the fist opening at Union Station in Toronto last week. The upmarket McCafe, similar to the store which debuted in Sydney, Australia this year, is a far cry from the traditional McDonald's archetype which are now all over the world. The stores menu includes sandwiches 'on stoneground multi-grain bread' and salads like Quinoa Edamame Mandarin and Kale with Brussel Sprouts and Mixed Veggies. McDonald's said establishing a McCafé as a standalone destination is part of its strategy to build on its reputation as a leading coffee brand and desire to elevate customers café experience. “We're putting the café in McCafé and making the brand a destination in its own right,” said John Betts, President and CEO of McDonald's Canada. “The new standalone McCafé locations allow us to build on our strong coffee credentials and create even stronger connections with our brand by offering our guests the more complete café menu they've been asking us for.” Canada's new McCafés will have self-ordering kiosks, charging stations, and Wi-Fi. “In creating these new McCafé destinations, we put the modern needs of our guests' busy lifestyles first,” said Betts. “We're making it easier for our guests to incorporate McCafé into their everyday rituals.” McDonald's Canada started lifting its coffee game in 2008. It launched its first Free Coffee event in 2009, and since then has given away more than 138 million cups of coffee at more than 13 events. In 2011, the McCafé brand was officially launched and then in 2014, the McCafé Premium Roast Coffee started showing up on supermarket shelves .  Today, coffee sales have tripled and the brand has more than doubled its coffee market share. The first McCafé location at Union Station is the first permanent retail operation to open in the station's newly renovated York Concourse facility.  The second location is scheduled to open in Toronto's First Canadian Place skyscraper in January 2016. A second is schedulled to open at First Canadian Place early in 2016. Image: John Betts, President and CEO of McDonald's Canada, opens the first Canadian standalone McCafé in Toronto's Union Station.