A new KFC restaurant in McKinney, Texas, is about much more than debuting a new design."This is the Kentucky Fried comeback made real in one restaurant," KFC U.S.President Catherine Tan-Gillespie told Fox News Digital.The restaurant, dubbed Open House, serves as a testing ground for how the 75-year-old fast-food chain that Colonel Harland Sanders founded might modernize without abandoning the things that made it famous.WHY KFC'S FRIED CHICKEN TASTES DIFFERENT FROM THAT OF EVERY OTHER FAST-FOOD CHAINKFC's challenge isn't necessarily getting Americans to remember the brand.
It's getting them to think about it when deciding what to eat today."There is a massive love for this American icon," Tan-Gillespie said.But in the U.S., she added, "we tend to be thought about in people's memories.
We're not actually being considered in eating moments of today."KFC's Open House is a prototype restaurant in McKinney, Texas.(KFC)That tension between nostalgia and relevance helped shape Open House.
In developing the restaurant, KFC started with a question."We sat back and said, you know, if the Colonel were building a restaurant from scratch today, what would this look like?" Tan-Gillespie said.AMERICA'S LATE-NIGHT FAST-FOOD CULTURE MAY BE MAKING A COMEBACK — HERE'S WHYThe answer incorporates Art Deco and mid-century modern influences alongside large glass windows, digital ordering and drive-thru technology.At the same time, the restaurant features lobby hosts, table service, booths and outdoor dining designed to encourage customers to gather."For me, the philosophy is that we should be digital where it's helpful, but human where it matters," Tan-Gillespie said.The new restaurant (not pictured) will experiment with expanded hours and breakfast offerings.
(Moses Robinson/Getty Images for KFC)The menu follows a similar philosophy: Hold onto KFC's most recognizable products while experimenting with how customers want to eat chicken now, Tan-Gillespie said.Buckets and the chain's o...