KFC has opened Open House, a new restaurant in McKinney, Texas, designed to test how the 75-year-old chain can modernise while preserving its traditional identity. The concept aims to make KFC more relevant to present-day diners, balancing nostalgia for Colonel Sanders and the brand’s original recipe with updated technology, dining formats and menu choices.

The restaurant combines Art Deco and mid-century modern styling with digital ordering, drive-through technology, hosts, table service, booths and outdoor seating. It will operate from 6am to midnight, testing breakfast and late-night demand, while offering familiar buckets alongside tenders, wings, sandwiches, wraps, nuggets, new sauces, drinks, snacks, desserts and sides. KFC selected the fast-growing Dallas-Fort Worth market to assess whether the model could work in similar locations, but says its original-recipe buckets will remain unchanged.