There may not be much scientific evidence to back up the old adage that “breakfast is the most important meal of the day,” but KFC isn’t taking any chances.
In September, the quick service chain opened an experimental new restaurant in McKinney, Texas called “Open House.” One thing diners can expect from the test kitchen? Breakfast.
KFC U.S. President Catherine Tan-Gillespie told Restaurant Dive the chain wants to “grow the dayparts outside of what we’re famous for, which is dinner and lunches,” and the new location provides a perfect opportunity to do that.
“It is a real restaurant built to learn,” she told the outlet.
KFC is testing out new breakfast items
Of all the changes being tested at Open House, the breakfast menu is perhaps the largest.
The lineup includes “breakfast sandwiches, Original Recipe tenders, hashbrown sticks, mini cronuts, freshly brewed coffee and iced lattes,” according to a press release.
Tan-Gillespie says the breakfast sandwiches are the cornerstone of the new menu, and that diners will be able to choose from two options: a classic bacon-and-egg and more unique alternative that includes the chain’s famous chicken.
“Customers will expect bacon and eggs for breakfast, but it wouldn’t be KFC unless we included fried chicken,” she told Restaurant Dive.
In order to ensure that diners can grab their morning meals in time for work and school, Open House will start serving portions of its menu at 6 a.m.
While the breakfast menu isn’t rolling out nationwide just yet, it may if these early test runs do well.
“The premise commercially behind this restaurant is called ‘AUV-maxxing,’” Tan-Gillespie said. “We want to open up as much as we can in terms of driving new channels, driving new day parts, driving new menu options, driving new experiences, [and] new occasions.”
In other words, KFC is using Open House to test a number of new strategies to determine which ones may improve overall sales. The most successful will then be pushed out to existing KFC locations.
KFC wants to become more than a dinner destination
KFC’s new breakfast menu is part of the chain’s overarching turnaround strategy.
In June, KFC launched its “next chapter,” with the goal of “set[ting] the standard for modern chicken in QSR.”
“This next chapter brings new energy and expression to what makes us iconic, while doubling down on our chicken and reimagining how fans experience KFC around the world,” a press release said.
As far as the timing of the new rollouts, at the close of the second quarter of the 2026 fiscal year the chain said it aspired to have “core elements of its strategy live across its Top 20 markets by the end of 2027.”
KFC hasn’t necessarily been struggling financially — it represents 58% of parent company Yum! Brands’ divisional operating profit — its popularity and relevance in the U.S. have slipped in recent years.
“We live in memories,” Tan-Gillespie told Restaurant Dive.
More fast food:
- McDonald’s just did something not seen in decades
- Starbucks rival cafe chain has closed 130 locations
- Papa John’s plans to change the pizza you’ve ordered for years
In order to break out of that nostalgic trap, the chain has to reinvent how customers interact with it and what they can expect from its menus.
That means Open House and its breakfast menu are about more than finding a way to sell fried chicken before noon.
KFC is using the restaurant to figure out what it can do to give customers more reasons to visit, whether that means coming in for breakfast, trying a new menu item, or experiencing the brand in a different way.
If the experiments work, you may see breakfast sandwiches on your menu sooner than you think!
