KFC to debut new Open House restaurant concept in McKinney

McKinney is set to become the first test market for KFC’s Open House concept, a new restaurant format that will try out a different dining room, a different ordering flow and a refreshed menu before the company decides how far to push the redesign. Diners at the new site should see table service alongside drive-thru and takeout, plus signature items and new offerings presented in a new way.

The company says the point is to use one restaurant to rework “product, promotion, pricing and place,” with KFC U.S. President Catherine Tan-Gillespie calling the concept a way to “jolt the system and jump forward a decade.” That makes McKinney more than just another suburban opening. It gives KFC a Collin County proving ground near Yum Brands’ Plano headquarters, where the chain can watch how North Texas customers respond to a format it expects to influence future stores.

The McKinney project was filed as a 2,700-square-foot restaurant with an estimated construction cost of $1.8 million at 8751 Eldorado Parkway. The first Open House location will be company-owned, and KFC has also said a franchisee has agreed to develop one, suggesting the McKinney store is meant to be a working prototype rather than a one-off novelty.

KFC is testing the concept as its broader turnaround starts to show momentum. After seven straight quarters of same-store sales declines, the company has now reported three consecutive quarters of growth. That shift matters for Collin County because it suggests KFC is using McKinney to validate a strategy while the brand still has room to regain customers.

The local opening also fits into KFC’s larger global reset. In a June 15 announcement, the company said it is rolling out more boneless menu items, a global sauce pantry with more than 20 sauces and updated restaurant design across its system. KFC said the refreshed experience will eventually extend to its 34,000-plus restaurants in more than 150 countries, but the first real-world check begins in McKinney. For Collin County diners, the difference will be immediate: a familiar chicken chain, but with a new way to order, a new way to sit down and a new version of the menu on the way in the door.