You might have noticed something different the last time you grabbed a taco or a chicken sandwich. The drinks menu got a lot more interesting.
Fast food restaurants are rolling out specialty drinks that go way beyond fountain soda and iced tea. Handcrafted refreshers, custom cold brews, energy drinks and frozen beverages are showing up at chains you wouldn’t expect. Some are even building entire cafes around them.
Whether you’ve spotted a new drink counter at Taco Bell or heard about Chick-fil-A’s new café concept, the shift is happening fast. Chains are investing in drinks and beverages to bring you in between meals, not just with them. Next time you search for “cafes near me,” a drive-thru might be what comes up.
What Is Taco Bell’s Live Mas Cafe?
It’s a dedicated beverage bar inside select Taco Bell restaurants. The first Live Más Café debuted in Chula Vista, California in December 2024, with trained “Bellristas” mixing over 20 handmade drinks to order.
The drink menu covers Refrescas, cold brews, energy options, chillers and frozen blends, all served alongside the standard Taco Bell food menu. These specialty beverages are only sold at locations with a Live Más Café, not your regular Taco Bell.
Taco Bell has called the concept a “playground for beverage innovation” designed to test new recipes before a broader rollout.
How Many Live Mas Cafe Locations Are Open?
The rollout has been fast. Starting with a single location in late 2024, the Taco Bell Live Más Café concept grew to 31 by the end of 2025 and reached 38 by April 2026.
Do People Really Order Just Drinks at Fast Food Restaurants?
They do. At Live Más Café locations, 43 percent of specialty-beverage purchases come without any food order, according to Nation’s Restaurant News. Those locations also move roughly 25 percent more beverages overall compared to a standard Taco Bell.
“Live Más Café was created in response to what we’re seeing from Gen Z, a real cultural shift where beverages are becoming lifestyle drivers,” Taco Bell global chief brand officer Taylor Montgomery told Restaurant Dive.
What Is the Chick-fil-A Beverage Concept Daybright?
It’s an independent café operated by Red Wagon Ventures, a subsidiary of Chick-fil-A. The first Daybright Coffee and Refreshment opened in Hiram, Georgia in October 2025.
The drink selection includes lattes, cold brew, protein-infused coffee, iced teas, lemonades, sparkling “Fizzes,” smoothies and fresh-pressed juices. There’s also a limited grab-and-go food menu.
No. Daybright runs as its own brand with no Chick-fil-A food available. The concept blends café culture with drive-thru speed, featuring both a sit-down dining area and a two-lane drive-thru.
“With schedules busier than ever, we know people are looking for easy, convenient ways to enjoy quality food and beverages,” Red Wagon Ventures vice president David Farmer told Restaurant Dive. “Daybright is designed with this in mind, offering delicious beverages and portable bites intended to delight customers and help boost their busy days.”
With just one location so far, Daybright is still in early testing compared to Taco Bell’s fast-growing Live Más Café rollout.
What Was McDonald’s CosMc’s?
CosMc’s was a drink-first spinoff that McDonald’s launched in December 2023 in Bolingbrook, Illinois. Customers could build their own coffees, refreshers, lemonades and energy drinks with mix-ins like popping boba and flavor shots.
McDonald’s had planned about 10 test locations in Illinois and Texas but never hit that number. The company did not frame the shutdown as abandoning specialty beverages. When CosMc’s closed in 2025, five stores remained: Bolingbrook, Illinois; Fort Worth, Texas; two in San Antonio; and Allen, Texas.
Did McDonald’s Learn Anything From CosMc’s?
Yes. McDonald’s described CosMc’s as a “Learning Lab” for experimenting with adventurous flavors, new tech and operational changes without affecting its core restaurants.
“We’ve learned so much, so quickly from the CosMc’s test,” McDonald’s said when announcing the closures.
The company applied those findings quickly. Drinks inspired by the CosMc’s menu were introduced at over 500 McDonald’s across Wisconsin, Colorado and nearby markets later in 2025. The result showed that many of those beverages performed well inside existing McDonald’s locations without requiring a standalone concept.
Why Are Fast Food Chains Investing in Specialty Drinks?
Starbucks proved the model. The company reports that afternoon traffic is climbing, with the strongest growth happening in the 3 to 5 p.m. window as customers come in for cold drinks long after the morning coffee rush.
Refreshers alone are worth $2 billion at U.S. company-operated Starbucks stores, ranking as the chain’s No. 2 beverage platform after espresso.
Taco Bell, Chick-fil-A and McDonald’s are all pursuing that same white space in three different ways. Taco Bell is adding beverage bars to its current restaurants. Chick-fil-A built a brand-new concept from the ground up. McDonald’s tested a separate brand, then folded the best ideas back into its existing locations.
There may not be one winning café format, but the goal is the same: create new visits that have nothing to do with a meal, whether the draw is a refresher, a cold brew, an energy drink or another customizable specialty beverage.
