KFC has opened a new restaurant in McKinney, Texas, called Open House, which serves as a test for modernizing the 75-year-old fast-food chain while preserving its iconic elements. The restaurant features a blend of Art Deco and mid-century modern design, digital ordering technology, and expanded menu items including tenders, wings, sandwiches, wraps, and nuggets, alongside traditional offerings like buckets of original recipe fried chicken. KFC plans to monitor the success of new service concepts such as breakfast and late-night dining before potentially rolling them out nationally.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-26,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
KFC has launched a comeback strategy in the U.S. fast-food market by opening an experimental concept store named Open House in McKinney, Texas on Thursday. The new KFC location aims to test innovative ideas while maintaining the brand's classic appeal. It offers unique menu items such as boba refreshers and milkshakes with crunchy toppings, alongside a broader selection of chicken tenders, dipping sauces, and sides like spicy pickles and fried green beans.
The Open House restaurant features modern amenities including touch-screen kiosks for ordering, mobile pickup stations, two drive-thru lanes, and an interior layout designed to encourage customers to stay longer. Additionally, it includes a merchandise section and a photo booth. KFC's U.S. President Catherine Tan-Gillespie emphasized that the new format blends nostalgic elements with modern touches, reflecting how founder Colonel Harland Sanders might design a restaurant today if he were starting from scratch.
The initiative comes as KFC faces growing competition in the American market, particularly from rivals like Raising Cane’s. McKinney was chosen due to its fast-growing and competitive dining scene, providing both existing customers and potential new ones with an inviting and contemporary experience.
Written for “KFC Restaurant Makeover” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.
A new KFC restaurant in McKinney, Texas, is about much more than debuting a new design.
asserted
restaurant → debut → design
"This is the Kentucky Fried comeback made real in one restaurant," KFC U.S. President Catherine Tan-Gillespie told Fox News Digital.
asserted
Gillespie → make → Digital
The restaurant, dubbed Open House, serves as a testing ground for how the 75-year-old fast-food chain that Colonel Harland Sanders founded might modernize without abandoning the things that made it famous.
uncertain
it → dub → things
KFC's challenge isn't necessarily getting Americans to remember the brand.
asserted
Americans → get → brand
It's getting them to think about it when deciding what to eat today.
asserted
them → get → what
"There is a massive love for this American icon," Tan-Gillespie said.
asserted
Gillespie → be → icon
But in the U.S., she added, "we tend to be thought about in people's memories.
asserted
we → add → memories
We're not actually being considered in eating moments of today."
asserted
We → consider → today
That tension between nostalgia and relevance helped shape Open House.
asserted
tension → shape → House
In developing the restaurant, KFC started with a question.
asserted
KFC → develop → question
"We sat back and said, you know, if the Colonel were building a restaurant from scratch today, what would this look like?" Tan-Gillespie said.
asserted
Gillespie → sit → what
The answer incorporates Art Deco and mid-century modern influences alongside large glass windows, digital ordering and drive-thru technology.
asserted
answer → incorporate → windows
At the same time, the restaurant features lobby hosts, table service, booths and outdoor dining designed to encourage customers to gather.
asserted
restaurant → feature → customers
"For me, the philosophy is that we should be digital where it's helpful, but human where it matters," Tan-Gillespie said.
asserted
Gillespie → matter → me
The menu follows a similar philosophy: Hold onto KFC's most recognizable products while experimenting with how customers want to eat chicken now, Tan-Gillespie said.
asserted
Gillespie → follow → chicken
Buckets and the chain's original recipe remain central, but Open House expands into tenders, wings, sandwiches, wraps and nuggets, along with new sauces, drinks, snacks, sweets and sides.
asserted
House → remain → sauces
Open House is scheduled to operate from 6 a.m. to midnight, giving KFC an opportunity to test breakfast and late-night occasions that traditionally haven't been a major part of its U.S. business.
asserted
that → schedule → business
"We will see if those shoulder day parts work commercially for us and work for the guests, work for our team members," Tan-Gillespie said.
asserted
Gillespie → see → members
"If they don't, we'll cut them back.
asserted
we → do → them
And if they do, then we can look to scale them nationally."
asserted
we → do → them
"I think the things that should change is making sure that we expand into the ways that customers want to eat fried chicken today."
asserted
customers → think → chicken
KFC also chose McKinney with scalability in mind.
asserted
KFC → choose → mind
Tan-Gillespie described the Dallas-Fort Worth area as a fast-growing and competitive restaurant market, while McKinney provides a mix of existing KFC customers and consumers the chain hopes to attract.
asserted
chain → describe → consumers
The suburban setting also gives KFC a test that could potentially translate to similar markets elsewhere.
uncertain
that → give → markets
But even as KFC experiments with new formats, flavors, technology and dayparts, Tan-Gillespie said some pieces of the brand aren't up for reinvention.
asserted
pieces → experiment → reinvention
"Buckets of original recipe fried chicken should not change," she said.
asserted
she → fry → chicken
"I think the things that should change is making sure that we expand into the ways that customers want to eat fried chicken today.
asserted
customers → think → chicken
"
And what would Sanders make of that balance between the KFC he created and the one the company is trying to build?
asserted
company → make → KFC
"I think he would feel really proud, actually," Tan-Gillespie said.
asserted
Gillespie → think → ?
"I think he would say, 'This feels like me.
asserted
This → think → me
This feels like what I was trying to do.'
asserted
I → feel → what
The Aporia
