{"id":245086,"date":"2026-04-24T18:00:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T18:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/245086\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T18:00:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T18:00:08","slug":"saucy-kfcs-chicken-tenders-with-sauces-concept-opens-flagship-location-on-n-dale-mabry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/245086\/","title":{"rendered":"Saucy!, KFC\u2019s chicken tenders with sauces concept, opens flagship location on N Dale Mabry"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The hottest new chain in Tampa (at least according to our numbers) is doubling down on the city. Saucy! by KFC made its debut in Tampa earlier this year, and the opening of its newest location this Saturday in Carrollwood (12650 N. Dale Mabry Hwy) marks an even more significant milestone. <\/p>\n

This location of the chicken fingers with sauces concept will serve as Saucy!\u2019s flagship location, and as such it will have some exclusive and brand-heavy creations. As for the experience itself, the new fast-casual restaurant has a few dozen items listed on the menu, but the entire concept revolves around two things: crispy, hand-battered fried chicken tenders, and the dozen-plus sauces they\u2019d like you to dip those tendies in. You can order the tenders on their own with dipping sauces and fries, or you can level up with the \u201cchick\u2019itos\u201d (tacos), \u201cgrand\u2019itos\u201d (burritos), sandwiches, rice bowls or salads, all loaded up with tenders and sauce.<\/p>\n

The idea is to \u201cbring a modern, experiential approach to fast food,\u201d according to the company. KFC isn\u2019t necessarily the most creative fast food chain around, but it\u2019s worth remembering that KFC and Saucy!\u2019s parent company is Yum! Brands, which also owns Taco Bell. Say what you like about fast food chains, but I\u2019ll always put respect on the name of the company that gave us the Doritos Locos Taco and the Crunchwrap Supreme.<\/p>\n

Saucy! began its launch in Central Florida and Tampa is one of the first markets to get the full rollout. As the biggest and flagship location, the new Carrollwood restaurant will have a handful of items exclusively available there, including:<\/p>\n

Saucy! x DRIPS by Pepsi\u00ae collaboration\u2014featuring four bold, mood-inspired drinks available exclusively at Saucy! locations, plus a fifth beverage available only at the Carrollwood location: Tropical Energy Escape (a vibrant, coconut-forward energy blend)<\/p>\n

A first bite of the all-new Big Sammie, made in partnership with King\u2019s Hawaiian\u00ae\u2014featuring crispy tendies, crunchy greens, hashbrown straws, and your choice of signature sauce on a soft, slightly sweet bun<\/p>\n

In fact, the new location is hosting a \u201cSaucy! Soiree\u201d from 11:30 am \u2013 1:30 pm on opening day, this Saturday, April 25. If you see this in time, you can make it to guided tastings with a \u201cSauce Sommelier\u201d and even pick up swag bags.<\/p>\n

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If you\u2019re just in it for the chicken and sauce, we respect that, too. In addition to straight up tenders, offerings include saucy kimchi chicken tacos, ranchero chicken burritos, or even a saucy chicken Caesar salad. Sides include crinkle cut fries, brussels sprouts, mac and cheese, and King\u2019s Hawaiian toast.<\/p>\n

These are the biggest of what will eventually be six Saucy! locations in the Tampa Bay Area, with Temple Terrace, Carrollwood, Trinity, and Bradenton all getting restaurants by this summer.<\/p>\n

Sauce options include:<\/p>\n

Chimichurri Ranch<\/p>\n

Creole Honey Mustard<\/p>\n

Jalapeno Pesto Ranch<\/p>\n

Saucy Ranch<\/p>\n

Saucy\u2019s Sauce<\/p>\n

Smokey Bacon Ranch<\/p>\n

Sweet N Spicy BBQ<\/p>\n

Sweet Teriyaki<\/p>\n

Korean Sweet Heat<\/p>\n

Salsa Ranchero<\/p>\n

Thai Sweet N Spicy<\/p>\n

Caesar<\/p>\n

Learn more and see the full menu here.<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The hottest new chain in Tampa (at least according to our numbers) is doubling down on the city.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":245087,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[135,137,136],"class_list":{"0":"post-245086","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tampa","8":"tag-tampa","9":"tag-tampa-headlines","10":"tag-tampa-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245086","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=245086"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245086\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/245087"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=245086"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=245086"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=245086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}