The world's first drive-thru only KFC opened at Broadmeadow on Wednesday.
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The fast food chain's new outlet features five lanes, allowing customers more time to make their order.
The company chose the Lambton Road site because it is centrally located, is on a busy commuter road and is a few kilometres between two traditional outlets at Kotara and Newcastle West.
"Novocastrians love their chicken," KFC Australia chief development officer Inara Gravitis said.
"They love our chicken, which is great. We've got a lot of stores up here and they all perform incredibly well."
Ms Gravitis said it was a historic occasion for the company, which had been planning the store for about three years and started construction in June.
She said the drive-thru only outlet had came about for three main reasons: the company's desire to have smaller sites, the influence of technology, and research which showed the traditional drive-thru experience needed enhancing.
"We have probably 70 per cent of our customers go through drive-thru," she said.
"We send them around the back of a concrete building, it's not really that exciting.
"They told us that they have anxiety when they get to the menu-board because ... if someone pulls up behind them they get stressed out that they're going to hold someone else up.
"So we knew customers wanted to have a little more time to decide what they want in their own time and space."
Customers can use an app to pre-order food or order in the lane. When the order is ready, a boom gate rises and allows them to proceed to a pick-up window.
About 67 staff will work at the outlet, which is open from 10am to midnight each day.
