QSR Updates: KFC’s Saucy, Del Taco

Below is a trio of noteworthy new concepts/growth plans from the quick-service restaurant sector:

KFC (Louisville, Ky.) Launches Saucy in Orlando: Late last year, Yum! Brand Inc.’s KFC unit took the wraps off its first-ever Saucy restaurant, in Orlando, with plans for more in the future (though no specifics along those lines have been released yet). “Everyone is obsessed with sauce – more is more,” said KFC Chief New Concept Officer, Christophe Poirier. “With Saucy, we’ve taken KFC’s famous Original Recipe and amplified it with a brand-new concept that lets consumers play with flavor. You can pick a combo, choose a flight of sauces or, my personal favorite, mix sauces and sides to create your perfect meal.”

KFC says in a news release that Saucy offers “a tech-forward customer experience. Drive-thru lanes allow traditional traffic flow, while inside, diners are invited to order their personalized meal at efficient kiosks and welcomed to stay awhile in an environment meant to hang out. Saucy will debut programming such as live entertainment, making it the perfect community epicenter.”

The restaurant also features technology that enables efficient back-of-house operations for team members. A “digital twin” of the Saucy restaurant takes its real-world data and runs simulations to create proprietary algorithms that inform how to make tenders as hot and fresh as possible – reducing wait time and upping the items’ crisp-factor.

Del Taco (Lake Forest, Calif.) Heads to Hoosier Land: The Mexican quick-service restaurant chain has announced the signing of a 10-unit development agreement with a new franchise group in and around Indianapolis. Target locales include Bloomington, Bedford, Columbus, Greenwood, Plainfield and Avon. This marks the brand’s entry into the Indiana market. Acquired by Jack in the Box in late 2021, Del Taco now has nearly 600 restaurants across 17 states.

The Red Chickz (Los Angeles) to Bring the Heat in 2025: The 7-year-old chain, which describes its menu as “a West Coast twist on Nashville Hot Chicken,” said it plans to sign franchise agreements for at least 45 new stores in the coming year. The chain currently has five locations – four in California and one in Texas – with an additional 26 locations in development from agreements signed last year. To help oversee that growth, the company has hired veteran restaurant franchise exec Spencer Sabatasso as its VP of Development.