Chowking enters US East Coast with first store in New Jersey

Chinese fast-food chain Chowking, one of the brands under the Jollibee group, has debuted in the US East Coast with the opening of its first store in Jersey City.

Jersey City is the second-most populous metropolis in the New Jersey state with a thriving Filipino community.

“The opening of the Jersey City store is key in our progress as this marks Chowking’s first entry in the East Coast. Jersey City is home to a large Filipino population making it a natural area of expansion for Chowking,” said Maribeth dela Cruz, president of Jollibee Group North America, Philippine brands.

This marks Chowking’s 16th store in the United States, an offshore market that it entered in 1995. Most of its branches are located in the US West Coast.

The brand reported an “unprecedented” opening day sales level on Oct. 26 as this marked the highest one-day sale of a Chowking store in the United States. Customers lined up for hours to taste their Chowking favorites, parent company Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) said in a press statement on Wednesday.

Chowking launched new meals in its Jersey City menu including its chicken wonton noodles and soy garlic ginger chicken. These products will soon be offered in other Chowking stores, joining popular items asado siopao, beef wonton noodles and pork siomai.

Setting up shop in the East Coast is part of JFC’s expansion program in North America, which is the group’s largest market outside the Philippines.

North America accounted for about 15 percent of JFC’s total sales, excluding Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf which separately accounted for about 11 percent, based on analyst estimates.

JFC, which aspires to be one of the top five fast-food groups in the world, operates in 34 countries, with over 5,800 stores globally.

Apart from its homegrown brands, JFC accelerated its entry into the US market with the acquisition of American casual burger chain Smashburger.