Is this the end for the colonel?
Fast-food chain KFC is not only tossing out the chicken bones, but also the quaint image of founder Col. Harland Sanders as it tests a more upmarket restaurant.
The fried chicken chain says it's opening a location called "KFC eleven" next month near its headquarters in Louisville, Ky., that will serve flatbread sandwiches, rice bowls, salads and only boneless pieces of its Original Recipe chicken.
The name of the test restaurant is a reference to the 11 herbs and spices Sanders used in the "secret" Original Recipe.
(Read More: Secret's out! Hidden menu items)
But the big news is that the restaurant's exterior won't feature Sanders, the avuncular, silver-goateed Southern gentleman in a white suit and string tie, whose likeness has long been front-and-center at traditional KFC locations.
Sanders, who died in 1980, started selling his Kentucky Fried Chicken at a gas station he ran in 1930 in Corbin, Ky. In 1964, he sold the corporation for $2 million. KFC, which now has some 15,000 outlets in 105 countries, is owned by Yum Brands, which also owns Taco Bell and Pizza Hut.
KFC eleven's opening is a reflection of the challenges facing traditional fast-food chains such as McDonald's, Burger King and Wendy's. The problem is that people in their 20s and 30s are increasingly heading to chains such as Chipotle Mexican Grill and Panera Bread, where they feel they get better food for slightly higher prices.
(Read More: Restaurants rethink menus to woo baby boomers)