In a way though it was a smart move for McDonald's because of the brand segmentation. It's like honda is more economy versus Acura is a more expensive brand though they are owned by the same company. Another example of this is toyota versus lexus.
I believe they (McDonalds) are also the owner of Donatos pizza. At one point in the past they tried to start up a chain of restaurants modeled after Boston Chicken but it didn't last long.
[1]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chipotle_Mexican_Grill