Jollibee continues expansion in North America

Homegrown fast-food giant Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) has expanded its footprint in North America as its flagship brand opened its first restaurant in Arizona in the United States and in Regina in Canada.The two store openings brought Jollibee’s total store count in the United States and Canada to 50, JFC said in a statement.

The debut in Arizona and Canada’s province of Saskatchewan is part of the brand’s accelerated North American expansion plan to grow to 250 stores by 2023.

The plan is to set up 150 branches of Jollibee in the United States and 100 branches in Canada.

In 2019 alone, the brand more than doubled its store count in Canada. For 2020, Jollibee’s expansion in Canada will focus in Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta, British Columbia and Quebec.

In the United States, store openings are planned in Florida, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Texas, Nevada, California and Hawaii.

The Arizona store is located at E Germann Road, Chandler while the Regina store is located at Quance Street, Regina.

“The openings were greeted by thousands of people in line, many of whom camped out for as long as three days amid extremely cold temperatures,” JFC reported on Friday.

Irene Ballesteros-Shields, the first customer of Jollibee Chandler, Arizona, lined up three days prior to opening day, cited as a new record for Jollibee USA openings.

“I waited in line for a long time for my son and niece because they have never experienced Jollibee. My mom and dad usually took me to Jollibee when I was younger, and I want my son to experience it. I’m very ecstatic, and with Jollibee, I feel like I’m back home again,” she said, as quoted in a JFC statement.

In Regina, the first customer was Canadian Jason Marx, who lined up for 19 hours before the opening.

“I’ve known about Jollibee for a while, but without any stores in Canada at that time, it was hard for me to try it,” Marx said. “Then, when I was in Winnipeg, I heard Jollibee had a store there and tried the Chickenjoy, Jolly Spaghetti and Peach Mango Pie. The chicken was better than any I’d ever tasted at other fast-food restaurants. I wanted to be the first customer in line at Regina to experience Jollibee again and try more of the menu.”

“We are so thankful that we got to play a part in families’ and friends’ holiday memories this year,” said Beth Dela Cruz, president of JFC North America-Philippine brands group.—DORIS DUMLAO-ABADILLA INQ