KFC has opened a new concept store in Parramatta, which looks more like cafe than fast food chain.
The store has been fitted out with little traditional branding, signalling the fast food chain changing direction to accommodate the evolving expectations of urban, working professionals.
Nikki Lawson, chief marketing and development officer for KFC Australia, said: "Our existing KFC menu is designed to appeal to the broad Australian population - in some locations, such as our Church Street store, where the customer base is predominantly working adult Australians, we wanted to trial a smaller menu more targeted to their needs,” Lawson said.
“For this reason we have reduced the menu to some core favourites and added a few additional items that we believe will hold appeal to this audience. These new items bring the great taste of KFC to life with new ingredients such as red quinoa, jalapeño sauces, basmati rice and corn salsa.”
KFC's rival McDonalds kicked off a similar trial in Sydney's Castle Hill in October last year, offering customers there the choice between four kinds of cheeses, brioche buns and toppings including guacamole, grilled mushrooms, applewood bacon and nine different sauces.
KFC Australia has taken its restaurant one step further though, submitting an application for a liquor license to provide a small selection of beer and cider to customers who dine in at the new concept store.
While the application is currently under review, should the application be approved, adult customers will be permitted to have one drink per meal for in-store dining only.
Aaron Hedi, restaurant general manager at KFC Australia, said: “I’m excited to see how our customers will respond to the new concept. I grew up in the Parramatta area and have been involved in developing the look and feel of the store. We’ve tried to make it as local as possible, and we’ll be adding more personal touches to the experience so that we’re truly part of the local community.”
Should this trial be successful, KFC will look to open a small number of concept stores in other urban-style locations in Australia.
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