Southern culture is intricately intertwined with sauces. We douse our smoked meats in barbecue sauce, jazz up every salad under the sun with mayonnaise, pour gravies (from sausage to red eye to classic turkey) over our favorite foods, drizzle hot honey, smother in mustard, dip in ranch…the list goes on. So it’s not really a surprise to hear that a fast-food restaurant based on sauce has done well in the South.
Meet Saucy, a KFC spin-off restaurant that focuses on just that: serving up fresh and crispy chicken tenders that can be customized with 11 sauces. There are also 11 drink options—teas, freezes, and refreshers—to choose from. Why 11, you ask? Well, that would be a nod to the KFC’s signature 11 herbs and spices in their original chicken recipe.
The 11 sauces are sold individually or come in a flight of four. They include Chimichurri Ranch, Peri Peri Ranch, Jalapeno Pesto Ranch, Smokey Bacon Ranch, Thai Sweet ‘N Spicy, Sweet ‘N Saucy BBQ, Saucy’s Sauce, Spicy Mango Chutney, Saucy Ranch, Creole Honey Mustard, and Sweet Teriyaki.
“Everyone is obsessed with sauce—more is more,” said KFC Chief New Concept Officer, Christophe Poirier, in an announcement about the launch. “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. We’re sauce people, not math people, but we tried to calculate it and there seems to be over 4,000 different ways you could order at Saucy and have a different flavor experience every time.”
Unlike the classic red of KFC, diners at the new fast-food restaurant will see bold pink around every turn, plus a “tech-forward” customer experience that works to reduce wait time and serve tenders at peak crispness.
The first Saucy opened in Orlando, Florida, in mid-December 2024 to mostly four- and five-star reviews. “Fresh, tender (excuse the pun), juicy, flavorful, and near perfect color,” one fan wrote. “The staff was super helpful with all our questions and had great recommendations,” another visitor shared. “The Peri Peri sauce was our favorite and the chicken tenders were crispy and hot!”
And now, Saucy is coming to Jacksonville.
As reported by Action News Jax, there are plans in the works to convert a local PDQ (Tampa, Florida-born chicken restaurant) at 4816 Gate Parkway into the first Saucy location in northeast Florida. City permits are currently under review.
The newest location is part of a real estate deal between Yum! Brands (parent company of KFC and, subsequently, Saucy) and PDQ.
“Yum! Brands has acquired leasehold agreements for 13 restaurant site leases in Florida for future development in the market,” the company told Action News Jax. “This includes the restaurant at 4816 Gate Parkway in Jacksonville. The company intends to transform the locations into concepts operated by Yum! Brands, including expansion of the test program for the new chicken tender concept Saucy! by KFC, consistent with previously communicated plans.”
Yum! Brands will begin to convert restaurants in September 2025, with four locations in Central Florida, three in North Florida, and six on the West Coast of Florida. It is not confirmed what the concepts for all 13 restaurant locations will be.
PDQ employees affected by the transition will be given the opportunity to work for the new Yum! Brands restaurants. “This isn’t a goodbye to every location, but it is a heartfelt thank you for the moments we’ve shared together,” PDQ announced about the closures. “From family dinners to shakes with friends, your support has meant the world to us. You’ve been part of something truly special, and for that we are so grateful.”
If you can’t get down to Florida to try Saucy—though some folks have been making the trek from all across the South just for the chicken—we’ve got pickle-brined and buttermilk-marinated chicken tenders just waiting to be dipped into homemade sauce.
