McDonald’s BYOB arrives in the Chicago area

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McDonald’s Corp.’s effort to let customers build their own burgers has made its way to the western suburbs.

A new restaurant in Downers Grove is the first outside of California to have the chain’s Create Your Taste menu.

The interactive menu kiosk lets you customize your meal and pay for it without having to go to the counter. The touch screen lets you pick the kind of sandwich, the bun, condiments or sauces and fresh ingredients such as lettuce, onion or tomato. Make it a meal with fries and a drink.

The kiosk will accept payment by credit or debit card, or you can pay cash at the counter. Your order is delivered to your table.

The Oak Brook company held a grand opening for the Downers Grove restaurant Wednesday. A spokeswoman confirmed Thursday the restaurant at 2535 Ogden Ave. is the first outside of California to use the Create Your Taste menu.

McDonald’s started testing the build-your-own-burger concept in a single Southern California restaurant about a year ago, and the trial was expanded this summer.

The chain’s BYOB push is an effort to adapt to the growing trend toward customization in the fast-food industry. Some of the popularity of Chipotle and Subway is dictating exactly what you want on your burritos and sandwiches.

Burger customization has been available at some McDonald’s restaurants outside the U.S. Lifehacker.com sent a team to one in Australia to try out the system.

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