McDonald,s McFlurry - © Yahoo Style

A Burgerless McDonald’s? Only in Rio!

Visitors to Rio for the Summer Olympics may be chocked when they stop in at the McD’s outlet at the Olympic Park. If you’re looking for your usual Big Mac and Fries fix, forget it. This McD’s serves only one thing and it’s not what the chain is universally known for. But it is a Rio icon…

McDonald's Rio Icre Cream Kiosk - © 2016 McDonald's BrazilThe McDonald’s Dessert Kiosk at the Rio Olympic Park: No Burgers, no Fries
– nothing but Ice Cream… And Brazillians can’t get enough of it!

McDonald’s has been a major sponsor of the Olympics for a long time. It’s being touted in advertising this summer as ‘The Official Restaurant of the Olympic Games’. If that sounds a little contradictory, given the contrast between the menu items McDonald’s sells and the careful dietary regimes the athletes adhere to, you’re right. Nevertheless, USA Today reports that there’s a full-service, full-fat McDonald’s outlet within the Olympic Village. The world’s a funny old place, isn’t it?

In fact, there are some 33 full-service McDonald’s outlets within the Rio city limits. Visitors with a craving won’t have to go far to quench it.

But that’s only part of the story…

A McDonald’s Brazil spokesperson says that Brazil is unique in the McDonald’s universe in that it has some 2,500 Ice Cream only outlets. David Zlotnik, told USA Today:

“These dessert kiosks are iconic to Brazil. We have 2,500 of these [in the country], which are more than the number of restaurants we have here. That was the thinking behind it. Let’s showcase what we do locally.”

Ice Cream-only McD’s feature all the usual permutations of the soft-serve Ice Cream native to all McDonald’s menus, plus many versions of the McFlurry. And they’re wildly popular with Brazillians. There are, in fact, more Ice Cream-Only McD’s in the co9untry than there are full-service outlets.

In line with McD’s global policies

This may simply reflect McD’s policy to localize it’s menus to include flavours and items dear to palates around the globe. You’ll be interested to know, McD’s fans, that full-service McDonald’s outlets everywhere offer five basic menu items that are basic to the McDonald;s concept: Though McDonald’s has five core items that appear on the menu at every restaurant in the world — French Fries, the Big Mac, Hamburgers, Cheeseburgers and Chicken McNuggets.

After that… Well, they tried McChocolate Potatoes in Japan and a selection of regionally-appropriate Fry flavours – notably Gilroy Garlic – in California, among other wild and crazy ideas. Seems McD’s will go to the ends of the earth to capture and hold onto customers.

Have another Big Mac and enjoy the games!

~ Maggie J.