QCOSTARICA – With a series of promotions and activities to share with its followers, McDonald’s is celebrating its 50th anniversary in Costa Rica.

On Monday, December 28,, the chain enabled 50,000 coupons in its application exchangeable for its famous Big Mac at only ¢50 colones (that’s like 8 cents American).
They were sold out in a few hours. More promotions will be announced soon.
In 1970 McDonald’s opened in Costa Rica, its third country after the United States and Canada.

“For us, this celebration fills us with great happiness and pride, because in addition to having been the first to have a McDonald’s restaurant, we have become a market that has been the basis for many of the company’s projects,” said Esteban Sequeira, CEO Arcos Dorados Costa Rica, the largest independent McDonald’s franchisee in the world.
Among those projects, it is worth mentioning that Costa Rica was one of the first markets to have a McCafé and to have a sustainable restaurant, by having ecological design, conceptualization, architecture, materials and construction in Central America.
In addition, it was among the first in the region to have restaurants with Experience of the Future.
Currently, the chain has more than 125 points of sale nationwide, including restaurants, Dessert Centers and McCafé. “We are definitely a privileged country and that is why we want to give back, to our clients, by far all their support and loyalty,” added Sequeira.
Curiosities
- The first items on the McDonald’s menu in Costa Rica were: the Big Mac, cheeseburger and fries. In the late 1980s breakfast options were added.
- The first McDonald’s in the country was opened in 1970 on Calle 4, across from the Banco Central; the location was moved a block away to the Avenida Cental or “bulevar” last December.
- The second restaurant to open in the country was the one located in La Sabana in 1972 and was the first to incorporate a playground for children.
- When the brand reaches a new market, it tends to incorporate typical local options into its menu. In Costa Rica, the gallo pinto was added and “La Tica” hamburger that includes Lizano sauce, is made available to customers seasonally.
- In 2019 the Happy Meal turned 40 years old, it was created in Guatemala and throughout history it has incorporated emblematic toy collections.