Mountain View McDonald's To Open 'McCafe'

'McCafe' Will Compete With Starbucks, Peet's Coffee & Tea

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Conrad Freeman isn't your stereotypical high-tech entrepreneur, but on Wednesday he plans to launch one of the nation's most cutting-edge startups.

Freeman, who owns a popular McDonald's hamburger franchise in Mountain View will begin peddling delicacies such as skinny double mochas and roasted beef with balsamic vinegar on foccacia at the grand opening of the West Coast's first "McCafe." Instead of Egg McMuffins and Styrofoam cups of joe, he and a staff of 13 -- including baristas who completed a 40-hour training course -- will serve buttery brioche and cafe Americano in porcelain cups (or paper, if you order to go).

"What we see now is that mom comes in and buys a happy meal for her child, but she doesn't order anything because there's nothing she wants to eat at McDonald's," said Freeman, whose McCafe is modeled after a pilot program in Raleigh, N.C. "Now she can come in an indulge in a latte and gourmet muffin, maybe a piece of chocolate cheesecake."

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