Operations

KFC closes corporate-owned Florida stores

Image: iStock

July 14, 2020

KFC closed its corporate-owned store dining rooms in Florida this week due to increasing numbers of COVID-19 cases there, according to Reuters.

The news agency said it viewed a letter from KFC U.S. Chief Operating Officer Monica Rothgery to franchisees this past Monday that relayed company-owned Florida stores would be drive-thru only. The letter also suggested other owner-operators in areas where the virus is surging do the same, including the other states of Arizona, California and Texas.

KFC has 40 company stores in Florida, Reuters said, adding that just 5% of the brand's U.S. locations are operating any dine-in services. At the time of this writing, Florida recorded 282,435 cases, with 12,343 considered new cases in the past day, according to the Florida Health Department. The department said 4,277 people have died of the virus, including 35 new deaths in the past day.