KFC opens McKinney restaurant to test ideas for reclaiming its fried chicken crown

The useful part

The menu will feature new drinks like boba-filled refreshers and crunchy-topped milkshakes, an expanded lineup of tenders and sauces, and new side dishes like fried green beans and spicy pickles. The restaurant has double drive-thru lanes and a mobile order pickup station. After ordering at a digital kiosk, they can sit and wait for employees to bring the food to their table.

How it works

• KFC did not say how much of Open House's design or menu will eventually reach the rest of its 3,424 U.S.
• KFC is trying to make fast food more of an experience The Texas concept and gleaming, multi-story flagships set to open in Dubai, Seoul and London show KFC is trying to make grabbing fast food more of an...
• "People don't remember what they eat, but they remember how they were feeling when they were eating," KFC Chief Concept Officer Christophe Poirier, who leads new restaurant design, said.
• Poirier said KFC is automating tasks like ordering so employees can focus on hospitality.

What to take from it

KFC designed it to encourage customers to stay a while.

Details worth keeping

Thursday to serve as a test lab in its home market. Called Open House, it serves breakfast — a U.S. There is also a photo booth and a counter selling branded merch.