Key Takeaways
- KFC fair opened a futuristic eatery in McKinney, Texas, the archetypal of its kind.
- Open House offers KFC’s archetypal dawn meal menu, array service, boba tea, cronuts, affirmative new sauces and location-exclusive items akin the Twister and Southwest Corn.
- Executives call it a evaluation ground, not a completed blueprint.
If you’re wondering what KFC volition appearance akin in the next 10 years, caput on complete to McKinney, Texas, anywhere the poultry sequence fair opened a modern prototype restaurant, complete alongside a slick new design, never-before-seen list items, merch, and a dual-lane drive-thru.
“To me, this is the comeback plan that we have started all made genuine in one restaurant,” stated Catherine Tan-Gillespie, President of KFC U.S. The gleaming, 3,400-square-foot location off of Eldorado Road reworks all four Ps (product, place, cost and promotion) at once.
There’s a lot of firsts going on here. It’s KFC’s archetypal eatery to assist breakfast, its archetypal alongside true array service, its archetypal to assist boba tea and cronuts and Krunch shakes, its archetypal alongside a dedicated Celebration Booth, complete alongside customizable, digitally enhanced photos that encircle you akin a mini Times Square.
Not all these additions volition create it former this one North Dallas location. “This particular eatery is showcasing the art of the possible, but it’s not a blueprint. This is the testing ground for us to try those things and see what plant best,” stated Tan-Gillespie.

Photo credit: KFC
More choices, small confusion
One of those tests is simplifying the menu. Every combo at Open House now comes norm alongside fries, a biscuit, a dip and a drink, no additional guessing what’s included from item to item. The goal is to create it easier for customers to comprehend what they’re getting, and easier for workforce to execute without memorizing dozens of variations.
That doesn’t average there aren’t additional choices. This location features the Twister and Premium Sandwich, Southwest Corn, Fried Green Beans, Rainbow Coleslaw and Spicy Pickles, a reworked mashed murphy recipe, and colorful drinks akin lemonades, mango and cherry boba refreshers, and Krunch shakes. There’s additionally a swag bar marketing exclusive KFC merch, including a brace of fried chicken-print socks.

Photo credit: KFC
More ways in
The drive-thru got a rework too. Open House runs dual drive-thru lanes alongside a distinct walk-up opening and a dedicated mobile pickup lane, a blend executives admitted isn’t item you’d desire at all location. “This is a way for us to fig out what plant finest by location,” one administrator said.

Photo credit: KFC
A galley designed to preserve period and money
Behind the counter, the changes go deeper than the menu. A new oven doubles as a rethermalizer, cutting the equipment franchisees need to buy in half. A sauce-dispensing machine, built by a California startup, drops three sauces into a receptacle and seals it automatically, no additional assembly-line compression bottles. Every register, booth and galley display runs on Byte, the identical point-of-sale phase CEO Chris Turner has pushed throughout Yum! Brands.
Winning rear fans
The bigger goal is affectional as much as operational. “KFC lives in people’s memories, and not so much in the moments of today,” Tan-Gillespie said. “The brand is loved, but it’s latent.” With its skylights, succulent gardens, and red fins reminiscent of rear feathers, this new construction volition hopefully beckon customers to halt by, eat, chat, and remain a while, akin they did whenever the Colonel was rearward the counter.

Photo credit: KFC