Speedee Labs is Coming to McDonald’s Chicago Headquarters

McDonald’s has been an innovator for decades.

We perfected the restaurant Drive Thru. Our kitchens run seamlessly. And our burgers always taste delicious and juicy, no matter where in the world you order them.

Many of McDonald’s famous innovations were developed, tested or perfected by a team at our Innovation Center in Romeoville, Illinois. Soon, we are creating an innovation hub within McDonald’s global headquarters.

In 2024, McDonald’s will open Speedee Labs at MHQ in Chicago. For the first time, we're bringing teams from McDonald's amazing Innovation Center, Hamburger University and McDonald’s headquarters together under one roof, creating more opportunities for collaboration that will impact McDonald’s restaurants worldwide.

This will be a huge moment for our brand. Since opening in 1995, McDonald’s Innovation Center in Romeoville has played a huge role in bringing technologies and products that customers enjoy in restaurants around the world to life, from Mobile Order and Pay to streamlined kitchen practices. Most recently, the Innovation Center in Romeoville has been responsible for testing and perfecting:

• McDelivery. Love getting McDonald’s delivered to your doorstep? You can thank the Innovation Center for that.
• Mobile Order and Pay. How much time have you saved ordering your favorite McDonald’s meal on your phone? That’s a technology that was tested and perfected at the Innovation Center.
• Our delicious burgers, cooked to perfection. McDonald's has been working hard to develop burgers that are even more juicy and delicious. The team at the Innovation Center was behind new cooking practices that are currently being rolled out around the world.

When Speedee Labs opens at McDonald’s global headquarters in 2024, all of the capabilities of the former Innovation Center will be more accessible to corporate employees, market teams, franchisees, suppliers, Hamburger University students and our restaurant teams, creating more collaboration and hands-on learning opportunities. This move also enables greater co-creation with McDonald’s markets worldwide, allowing us to enhance our global capabilities.

With the opening of Speedee Labs, McDonald’s is proud to increase our investment in the city of Chicago. In the 12 months ending June 30, 2022, the total impact of the McDonald’s System on the economy of Cook County amounted to approximately $2B, and the McDonald’s System supported more than 14,000 jobs in Cook County.

Something big is coming. Stay tuned for more details about Speedee Labs.