From Popeyes to Chick-fil-A and Dave’s Hot Chicken, there are a LOT of chicken chains out there competing with KFC.
But the OG might have just blown them all out of the water, at least in the US, after launching a brand new spin-off concept restaurant.
Saucy by KFC opened in Orlando, Florida, on December 23 and it’s said to be ‘unlike anything else’ on the market, with fans describing it as ‘wild’, and some even proclaiming it to be ‘the best restaurant of all time’.
The quirky fast food restaurant serves new original recipe chicken tenders (known as ‘tendies’) as well as two chicken sandwiches or ‘sammies’ – the Ez Crispy and the Spicy Queso Crunch.
However, the star of the show is, of course, the sauces.
Saucy’s menu features 11 sauces that aren’t usually available at regular KFC restaurants; and these cover all sorts of tastes and flavours – from those who want a cool ranch-style sauce, to spicier ones and a few sweeter options.
The menu includes Peri Peri Ranch, Smokey Bacon Ranch, Chimichurri Ranch and Saucy Ranch, as well as Jalapeno Pesto, Spicy Mango Chutney, and Thai Sweet ‘N Spicy.
There are also tangy sauces like Sweet Teriyaki, Creole Honey Mustard, and Sweet ‘N Saucy BBQ, and finally there’s a brand new house Saucy’s Sauce, made of a mixture of ketchup, mayo, Worcestershire sauce, dill pickle and smoked paprika.
When it comes to side dishes customers can order crinkle cut fries, coleslaw, and Hawaiian rolls, and for dessert there’s a choice of two cake jars in chocolate or key lime flavours.
If all of this weren’t enough, the restaurant also has its own unique drinks menu which features beverages such as a Hot Honey Watermelon Refresher, Peach and Mango Lemonade, Blue Raspberry Freeze and Tropical Black Tea.
All of the items on the menu can be purchased individually or turned into combo meals, and KFC estimates there are at least 4,000 possible different ways you can customise your order.
Speaking about Saucy’s, Christophe Poirier, KFC’s chief new concept officer said: ‘Everyone is obsessed with sauce – more is more.
‘With Saucy, we’ve taken KFC’s famous Original Recipe and amplified it with a brand-new concept that lets consumers play with flavour.
‘You can pick a combo, choose a flight of sauces or, my personal favorite, mix sauces and sides to create your perfect meal.’
He added: ‘Saucy is unlike anything else on the market, and the experience it provides is in a class of its own. Being sauce-focused allows us to be as creative as we want.’
The brand certainly is being creative – they’ve switched up KFC’s usual red and white logo and colouring for this one, introducing a new hot pink design for this concept.
And there’s going to be live entertainment in the restaurant, with DJs are more to come.
If all goes well with this initial launch, the brand will be looking to open additional Saucy restaurants in the future, although no plans or locations have been confirmed as of yet.
But if the initial reviews of Saucy are anything to go by, it looks like it’s proving a hit over in Orlando.
Other fast food chains that have launched spin-off restaurants:
McDonald’s
In 2024, McDonald’s launched CosMc’s in the US, which was described as a ‘small-format concept with all the DNA of McDonald’s, but its own unique personality.’
The drive-thru restaurant, named after the chain’s alien mascot from the 80s and 90s, is located in Bolingbrook, Illinois, and has a menu that rivals the likes of Starbucks, thanks to tasty-sounding drinks such as the Churro Frappe, Sour Cherry Energy Burst, Popping Pear Slush, and S’mores Cold Brew.
In addition to a few McDonald’s classics (McMuffins and McFlurries), the menu also has some fun additions like the Spicy Queso Sandwich, a Creamy Avocado Tomatillo Sandwich, McPops which are small doughnuts, as well as Pretzel Bites and Hash Brown Bites.
PizzaExpress
In December 2024 PizzaExpress launched a new ‘Pizza Pod’ concept outside a Tesco Express store in Bursledon.
The Pod, operates as a pizza grab and go service, and allows shoppers to takeaway some of the brand’s core products, including American Hot and Padana pizzas.
These pizzas can be collected from a kitchen window, with a £9.95 pizza and soft drink lunch deal available.
And the best part is that Tesco Clubcard members can use their points to buy food – and these will double in value when converted to a PizzaExpress voucher.
The Pod, located in Southampton, has launched as part of a trial and comes after the chain opened three new restaurants in London Gatwick, Oxford Summertown, and The ICC in Birmingham.
Honest Burger
After the success of the smash burger trend in the UK, Honest Burgers has reinvented their Liverpool Street restaurant, giving it a focus on smash burgers, which is where beef patties are smashed flat on the grill while cooking.
The new concept restaurant is known as Smash + Grab and offers customers a quicker meal experience.
When it comes to burgers, you’ll only find smashed ones here, but there are also extra sides available such as loaded chips and chicken tenders.
TikTok user @Food4Tok said he thought it might be ‘the best restaurant of all time’, beating spin-offs by competitors like McDonald’s which launched new concept CosMc’s in the US last year.
In his video, he continued to say: ‘KFC just unveiled their new restaurant Saucy and honestly it sounds awesome. It’s still on-brand for them, it’s still fried chicken but it’s focused on chicken tenders and their sauces. And honestly this idea is absolutely genius, they’re selling their sauces for $0.49 per sauce and they’re even offering sauce flights like a brewery. They got all the sauces.’
Similarly, @eatme_orlando thought that the new Saucy concept was ‘revolutionising the fast food scene’, and @jessayyyye13 tried the all the sauces from the restaurant and rated them a 10/10. She added: ‘11 sauces and all are so yummy.’
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