KFC’s Saucy! opens new Tampa-area restaurant
- Saucy! by KFC, a chicken tenders-focused brand, is opening a new restaurant in the Tampa area. - The concept centers on chicken tenders and multiple signature dipping sauces, positioning it as a fast-casual tenders chain. - Local diners can expect a new quick-service option amid growing fast-food competition in Tampa (patch.com).
Saucy! by KFC is opening another Tampa-area restaurant as the chicken-tenders spinoff pushes deeper into the region. (patch.com) Patch reported on January 29 that Saucy! planned six Tampa Bay stores, with its first local site already open at 5706 W. Waters Ave. and a Westchase opening set for February 16. (patch.com) The same rollout listed more openings for Temple Terrace near the University of South Florida, Carrollwood, Trinity and Bradenton in March and April 2026. (patch.com) Saucy! is KFC’s fast-casual offshoot built around hand-breaded chicken tenders, more than 12 dipping sauces, and a menu that stretches into tacos, burritos, bowls, salads and sandwiches. (patch.com; thatssotampa.com) The company’s Tampa push comes as it converts some existing KFC and former PDQ sites, giving KFC a new brand format in a market already crowded with chicken chains. (fox13news.com; whatnow.com) Each Saucy! restaurant is pitched as a more tech-heavy setup than a standard KFC, with drive-thru service and self-serve kiosks. (patch.com; whatnow.com) KFC’s own location page now lists a “Saucy by KFC - Coming Soon” site at 12650 North Dale Mabry Highway in Tampa, a sign that the brand’s local footprint is still expanding. (locations.kfc.com) On Saucy!’s official site, the brand describes itself as “a fresh, modern take on KFC” that lets customers order at kiosks, on the app or through the drive-thru. (kfc.com) For Tampa diners, that means another new chicken counter is arriving under a familiar corporate name — but with tenders and sauces, not buckets, at the center of the pitch. (patch.com; kfc.com)
