{"id":17635,"date":"2026-09-26T02:41:54","date_gmt":"2026-09-26T02:41:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/?p=17635"},"modified":"2026-09-26T02:41:54","modified_gmt":"2026-09-26T02:41:54","slug":"kfcs-new-open-house-location-is-now-serving-breakfast-boba-tea-and-fried-chicken-socks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/?p=17635","title":{"rendered":"KFC’s New ‘Open House’ Location Is Now Serving Breakfast, Boba Tea and Fried Chicken Socks"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n
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KFC just opened a futuristic restaurant in McKinney, Texas, the first of its kind.<\/li>\n
Open House offers KFC\u2019s first breakfast menu, table service, boba tea, cronuts, plus new sauces and location-exclusive items like the Twister and Southwest Corn.<\/li>\n
Executives call it a testing ground, not a finished blueprint.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
If you\u2019re wondering what KFC will look like in the next 10 years, head on over to McKinney, Texas, where the chicken chain just opened a modern prototype restaurant, complete with a slick new design, never-before-seen menu items, merch, and a dual-lane drive-thru.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo me, this is the comeback plan that we have started all made real in one restaurant,\u201d said 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, price and promotion) at once.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a lot of firsts going on here. It\u2019s KFC\u2019s first restaurant to serve breakfast, its first with true table service, its first to serve boba tea and cronuts and Krunch shakes, its first with a dedicated Celebration Booth, complete with customizable, digitally enhanced photos that surround you like a mini Times Square.<\/p>\n
Not all these additions will make it past this one North Dallas location. \u201cThis particular restaurant is showcasing the art of the possible, but it\u2019s not a blueprint. This is the testing ground for us to try those things and see what works best,\u201d said Tan-Gillespie.<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
Photo credit: KFC<\/em><\/p>\n
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More choices, less confusion<\/h2>\n
One of those tests is simplifying the menu. Every combo at Open House now comes standard with fries, a biscuit, a dip and a drink, no more guessing what\u2019s included from item to item. The goal is to make it easier for customers to understand what they\u2019re getting, and easier for employees to execute without memorizing dozens of variations. <\/p>\n
That doesn\u2019t mean there aren\u2019t more choices. This location features the Twister and Premium Sandwich, Southwest Corn, Fried Green Beans, Rainbow Coleslaw and Spicy Pickles, a reworked mashed potato recipe, and colorful drinks like lemonades, mango and cherry boba refreshers, and Krunch shakes. There\u2019s also a swag bar selling exclusive KFC merch, including a pair of fried chicken-print socks.<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
Photo credit: KFC<\/em><\/p>\n
More ways in<\/h2>\n
The drive-thru got a rework too. Open House runs dual drive-thru lanes alongside a separate walk-up window and a dedicated mobile pickup lane, a combination executives admitted isn\u2019t something you\u2019d want at every location. \u201cThis is a way for us to figure out what works best by location,\u201d one executive said.<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
Photo credit: KFC<\/em><\/p>\n
A kitchen designed to save time and money<\/h2>\n
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 container and seals it automatically, no more assembly-line squeeze bottles. Every register, kiosk and kitchen screen runs on Byte, the same point-of-sale platform CEO Chris Turner has pushed across Yum! Brands.<\/p>\n
Winning back fans<\/h2>\n
The bigger goal is emotional as much as operational. \u201cKFC lives in people\u2019s memories, and not so much in the moments of today,\u201d Tan-Gillespie said. \u201cThe brand is loved, but it\u2019s latent.\u201d With its skylights, succulent gardens, and red fins reminiscent of tail feathers, this new structure will hopefully beckon customers to stop by, eat, chat, and stay a while, like they did when the Colonel was behind the counter.<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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