Photo 1: A giant bucket of chicken for a Chickenjoy toast: Members of Jollibee’s founding family doing the Chickenjoy toast along with Skokie Mayor, George Van Dusen, Skokie village representatives, Jollibee executives and the bee mascot. (Photo credit: Jollibee USA)
CHICAGO, Illinois – After much anticipation and excitement around its arrival, Jollibee finally opened its doors in its very first store in Chicago, Illinois, last July 29. Located at the world’s largest village, Skokie, thousands of customers lined up and camped out as early as 9 pm on July 28, the night before the grand opening of the store, to celebrate the long-awaited arrival of Jollibee. On its first day of operations, more than 5,000 customers all over Chicagoland and neighboring states headed to the store and got their hands on the world-famous Chickenjoy, as well as other favorite dishes such as the Jolly Spaghetti and Peach Mango Pie.
This level of excitement and anticipation is a first in all of Jollibee USA’s store openings as close to 500 customers were already in queue as early as 6:00 am – an hour before its doors opened! The guests were greeted by Jollibee executives and the company’s beloved bee mascot, who invited them to take part in activities and enjoy signature dishes to celebrate the opening.
Thousands waited in line at the grand opening of Jollibee’s first restaurant in the Midwest located in Skokie, IL Friday, July 29, 2016. (Photo credit: Jollibee USA)
“Finally, after a very long wait, Chicagoland gets its own Jollibee! We know our patrons have long been anticipating for our Chicago store to open – before they would have to go to Texas or to New York to have their Jollibee fix – and now we are happy to serve our customers right here in the heart of Skokie,” said Jose Miñana, Jollibee Foods Corporation’s Group President for North America and Foreign Franchise Brands in the Philippines. “It has been 18 years since Jollibee has set foot in the USA and we are truly grateful for the unwavering support we have been receiving through the years. Millions of customers have come in and out of our stores and it has been a joy for us to see how we bring happiness to every family over good food.”
“Illinois is a fitting choice for Jollibee’s first store in the Midwest because it has the 3rd largest population of Filipinos in the United States, after California and Hawaii. Every Filipino wants to be reminded of the taste of home and I think there is no other fast food brand out there that can deliver that but Jollibee,” shared Maribeth dela Cruz, Vice President and General Manager for Jollibee Foods Corporation North America.
Many people expressed their excitement over the opening of Jollibee Skokie, even traveling from as far as Canada just to get a taste of Jollibee. As described by Skokie Mayor, George Van Dusen, “Jollibee is not just a restaurant, it’s a tourist destination.”
More Jollibee stores in the US
In fourth quarter of 2016, Jollibee is setting its eyes to open its second store in Illinois, this time located in downtown Chicago. Apart from this, later in the year Jollibee will be celebrating new openings in Jacksonville, FL and its first ever foray into Canada with a store in Winnipeg, MB. Next year, the brand is slated to open its very first store in Manhattan.
Jollibee Foods Corporation is currently ranked as the largest Asian restaurant company in market capitalization, aggressively expanding in the US. It currently operates in 12 markets, with a total of 3,159 stores globally, of which 1,082 are Jollibee brand stores. The company’s aggressive expansion plan in North America is part of its overarching goal to be among the top five restaurant companies globally by the year 2020.
“Ever since our early beginnings as an ice cream parlor back in 1975, it has always been our mission to bring joy to families and friends over good food,” says Ernesto Tanmantiong, Jollibee Foods Corporation CEO. “More than 40 years and 1,000 stores later, we continue to fulfill this by expanding Jollbee brand’s horizons to a global market. We still get a thrill each and every time we open a new store and introduce our brand of happiness to different parts of the world.” ADVT