Particle.news
Get it on Google Play
Download on the App Store
6 ARTICLES
·
5h ago

KFC Opens Open House Test Restaurant in Texas

The McKinney location will serve as a learning lab to test U.S. breakfast, new beverages, tableside service and operational changes to guide any nationwide rollouts.

Jacob Mitchell carries a tray of food at new KFC restaurant pre-opening presentation in McKinney, Texas, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Image
Fried chicken is placed into a bucket at a new KFC restaurant in McKinney, Texas, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
A new KFC restaurant is presented in McKinney, Texas, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Overview

  • KFC opened the 3,400-square-foot Open House in McKinney, Texas on Saturday, Sept. 26 as a dedicated test restaurant with a public grand-opening celebration planned.
  • The menu debuts U.S. breakfast items such as breakfast sandwiches and mini cronuts plus an expanded tenders-and-sauces lineup.
  • New beverages including boba refreshers and crunchy 'Krunch' milkshakes appear for the first time in the U.S., building on drink rollouts KFC has already run in markets like the U.K., Canada and Australia.
  • Operational tests include self-order kiosks with tableside delivery, dual drive-thru lanes, a mobile pickup lane, a merch counter and a photo booth to measure guest behavior and staff efficiency.
  • KFC frames Open House as part of its 'Kentucky Fried Comeback' plan to regain U.S. share after years of declines, but the company has not committed which experiments will be scaled across its roughly 3,400 U.S. restaurants.