Wings News

KFC fried chicken to relocate its headquarters from Kentucky to Plano

Wings from KFC

Photo courtesy of KFC

Dallas is about to get a taste of Kentucky. According to a release, KFC parent company Yum! Brands is relocating global fried chicken chain KFC from its current headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky to Texas.

This means relocating KFC corporate office employees currently in Louisville to the KFC and Pizza Hut Global headquarters in Plano. At the same time, all remote employees will be asked to relocate to the campus where their work happens.

Yum! Brands and its subsidiaries franchise or operate more than 61,000 restaurants in more than 155 countries and territories under the company’s concepts – KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and Habit Burger & Grill.

Yum! Brands and the KFC Foundation will maintain corporate offices in Louisville. Yum Brands' other chains, Taco Bell and Habit Burger & Grill, will remain headquartered in Irvine, California.

In a statement, Yum! Brands CEO David Gibbs says that these changes wll help better serve customers, employees, franchisees and shareholders.

“Ultimately, bringing more of our people together on a consistent basis will maximize our unrivaled culture and talent as a competitive advantage," Gibbs says.

The relocation of approximately 100 KFC U.S. corporate roles will occur over the next six months. The relocation of 90 remote positions will take place over the next 18 months.

KFC will continue its presence in Louisville with the ambition of building a first-of-its-kind flagship restaurant.

KFC was founded in 1930 in North Corbin, Kentucky, when Harland Sanders first started serving fried chicken at his cafe, Sanders' Café. The first Kentucky Fried Chicken franchised location opened in 1952 in Salt Lake City.

KFC's headquarters in Louisville were built in 1970 and houses both corporate offices and a museum paying homage to Sanders. Yum Brands and the KFC Foundation will continue to maintain corporate offices in Louisville.

But Pizza Hut and Yum’s international division have been based in Plano since 1997 when Yum was spun off from PepsiCo.

openings

Grandscape goals

Soccer and dining venue from the UK gears up for U.S. debut in The Colony

Photo courtesy of TOCA Social

TOCA Social will make its U.S. debut in Grandscape in The Colony.

In time for the 2026 FIFA World Cup frenzy taking hold of Dallas, a soccer-themed entertainment and dining venue from the United Kingdom will make its U.S. debut in DFW this spring: Called Toca Social, it will open at The Grandscape complex in The Colony on March 6.

First announced for Grandscape in 2024, Toca Social combines soccer, entertainment, and dining, with a state-of-the-art venue and innovative soccer-based games. (A Toca Social was originally planned for Dallas, but that location was scrapped.)

The concept was founded by two-time U.S. World Cup veteran and MLS player Eddie Lewis and is backed by soccer legend Abby Wambach. It's billed as "the world’s first soccer social club" and only has three other locations - two in London and one in Birmingham, England.

“Toca was born from my obsession with the technical side of the game and the belief that a soccer ball should be at everyone’s feet,” says Lewis in the release. “After seeing the incredible reception in the UK, bringing our Social flagship home to the U.S. — and specifically to a soccer-rich market like Dallas — is a dream realized. We’ve created a place where the skill of the pros meets the energy of a world-class night out.”

Toca Social soccer Toca Social coming to Granscape in March 2026. Toca Social

The 20,000-square-foot high-tech venue features "social boxes" where players kick soccer balls against a screen that keeps score on best kicks. Cleats are not required. They tout their proprietary ball-delivery and tracking technology — an evolution of the "small ball" training method Lewis used during his 14-year professional career, the release says.

“Soccer is the ultimate unifier, but for too long, the 'entry fee' was being a pro-level athlete,” says Wambach in the release. “Toca Social is changing that narrative. This Dallas-area flagship is where the next generation of American soccer culture is being built.”

Sustenance comes by way of a chef-driven “Global Street Food” menu featuring Birria Tacos and Spicy Fried Chicken; along with a bar program that includes something called a "Pitch Invader" cocktail, which the release does not describe but calls a fan favorite.

There are massive 4K screens, ensuring Toca Social will be a premier location for FIFA World Cup watch parties this summer. Nine World Cup matches will be played at AT&T Stadium in Arlington in June and July. Dallas' Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center will serve as the official will also serve as the International Broadcast Center.

Toca currently operates another concept, Toca Soccer and Sports Centers, in the Dallas-Fort Worth area with locations in Allen, Carrollton, The Colony, Keller, and Mansfield. The company also has a strategic partnership with MLS club, FC Dallas.

“Our partnership with MLS is a cornerstone of our mission to engage fans in innovative new ways,” says Yoshi Maruyama, CEO of Toca. “By launching our U.S. Flagship at Grandscape now, we are providing a world-class destination where fans can play, dine, and celebrate the global game."

Reservations are now open at Toca Social in Grandscape for group outings, celebrations, corporate events, and matchday gatherings.

---

Raven Jordan contributed to this report.

world cup soccer openings sports