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Jollibee opens first store in Manhattan
Written by Ogilvy
Jose Miñana, Jollibee Foods Corporation's (JFC) Group President for North America: "Opening in Manhattan is a big deal for us. Not just because it's a center of business, finance, culture and entertainment, but also because the diversity of the food culture and the vibe in this city make it perfect for our brand."
Draws an overnight
queue of eager fans
The downpour which began early on Saturday morning, Oct. 27, 2018, did not dampen the spirit of Jollibee fans who had queued up hours before to be among the first guests at the brand's newest location at 609 Eighth Avenue near Times Square and Port Authority.
When the popular fast-food chain's jovial mascot Jollibee emerged with Jollibee Foods Corporation's (JFC) Group President for North America Jose Miñana and Vice President and General Manager Maribeth dela Cruz to formally open the newest restaurant on the block, guests excitedly acknowledged and eagerly trooped into the store to sample their Jollibee fan favorites after the ceremonial ribbon was cut.
"We are thrilled to open this milestone location," said Jose Miñana, JFC Group President for North America.
"Our vision is to be among the top five restaurant companies in the world and success in key urban centers like New York is critical. Manhattan is really the pinnacle for any brand as it's such a melting pot of cultures and draws visitors from all corners of the world. We cannot wait for this city to experience and fall in love with the unique flavors of Jollibee."
Brand fans traveled to the new location from as far as Montreal, Canada, to get a taste of Jollibee's world-famous Chickenjoy, which is delicately hand-breaded to be crispylicious on the outside, with a secret marinade that makes it juicylicious on the inside.
Kid-favorite Jolly Spaghetti, with its signature sweet-style sauce loaded with chunky slices of savory ham, and hotdog; and Peach Mango Pie made with real Philippine mangoes enveloped with a flaky golden-brown crust, were also popular.
Customers #1 and #2, Justin Callan and Faye Javier, lined up 20 hours before the store opened at 8 a.m. — a new record for any Jollibee opening.
"What Jollibee means to me is great food and a great experience. My beautiful girlfriend Faye introduced me to Jollibee and we have spent a lot of time on different trips visiting different Jollibees. It's just an experience that we enjoy doing together," said Justin.
"We're also celebrating at Jollibee today because it is Faye's Mom's (Cristina Javier's) birthday! Even though we can't be with her, we're celebrating with her today at Jollibee."
Opening Day first and second customers Justin Callan and Faye Javier of Coney Island, Brooklyn, enjoy their first Jollibee Manhattan meal after a 20-hour wait. (Photo credit: Jollibee)
As Jollibee's humble way of thanking customers for the outpour of support, and to celebrate the company's 40th anniversary, Jollibee awarded free Chickenjoy for a year to the first 40 customers in line and Jollibee collectibles to the first 300 customers in line.
Exclusive Jollibee Funko Pop! figures were awarded to creative customers who showed up in Jollibee costumes for the opening.
New on offer at Jollibee Manhattan are tangy, garlicky Adobo Rice, with bits of minced chicken and Jollibee's new Chicken Sandwich which started to roll out in U.S. stores earlier this year made with hand-breaded chicken breast fillet on a special brioche bun with garlic aioli sauce, lettuce and tomatoes.
Guests will also love two new products which can only be found at the Manhattan store: the Halo-Halo Sundae, a refreshing mix of nata jellies, beans and ube halaya on top of creamy vanilla soft serve and Jollibee's new Pandesal Rolls, soft bread buns served with special honey butter spread.
Jollibee is the flagship brand of Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC), which is the world's largest Asian restaurant company operating in 20 countries, with over 4,200 stores globally, nearly a third of which are Jollibee brand stores.
JFC has an 85% stake in Smashburger, and has recently entered into an agreement with award-winning Chef Rick Bayless to build a Mexican fast-casual restaurant business in the United States.
Jollibee opened its doors in Manhattan on the rainy morning of Oct. 27, 2018 at 609 Eighth Avenue. (Photo credit: Jollibee)
About Jollibee
Jollibee is the largest fast food chain brand in the Philippines, operating a Philippine network of more than 1,000 stores.
A dominant market leader in the Philippines, Jollibee has embarked on an aggressive international expansion plan.
Jollibee has more than 200 international branches, including in the United States, Canada, Hong Kong, Brunei, Vietnam, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Italy, Macau and in the United Kingdom.
In North America, the Company opened its first store in 1998 in Daly City, California.
Jollibee now operates 42 stores across the North American region, in the states of California, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Washington, Virginia of the United States; and in Manitoba and Ontario in Canada.
Technomic has consistently cited Jollibee among its Top 500 ranking restaurants in the United States.
It was also awarded as Multinational Corporation of the Year by the Asian Business League of Southern California in 2017.
The "Mythical First Five" became fast friends out in the queue. From 1st to 5th: Justin Callan, Faye Javier, Matthew Sterner, Leo Capili and Sarah Liu. (Photo credit: Jollibee)
About Jollibee Foods Corporation
Jollibee Foods Corporation is the largest Asian restaurant company and the largest restaurant company in the Philippines.
It operates in 20 markets, with over 4,200 stores globally, such as the Philippines, United States, Canada, China (including Hong Kong and Macau), Brunei, Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Italy, United Kingdom, Costa Rica, Egypt, El Salvador and Panama.
It has seven wholly-owned brands (Jollibee, Chowking, Greenwich, Red Ribbon, Mang Inasal, Yonghe King and Hong Zhuang Yuan), two franchised brands (Burger King in the Philippines and Dunkin' Donuts in certain territories in China), 85% ownership in U.S.-based chain Smashburger and a 60% ownership in the SuperFoods Group that owns Highland Coffee and Pho 24 brands.
JFC also has investments in Titan Dining LP, the ultimate holding entity of Tim Ho Wan Pte. Ltd. (the Master Franchisee of Tim Ho Wan in the Asia-Pacific region, excluding Hong Kong) and recently, it entered into a business venture with award-winning Chef Rick Bayless to build a Mexican fast-casual restaurant business in the United States.
Jollibee Foods Corporation has grown brands that bring delightful dining experience to its customers worldwide, in line with its mission of serving great tasting food and spreading the joy of eating to everyone.
Jollibee Foods Corporation has been named the Philippines' most admired company by the Asian Wall Street Journal for eight years in a row, and was honored as one of the "200 Best Under a Billion Companies in Asia" and one of "Asia's Fab 50 Companies" by Forbes Asia Magazine.
Limited-edition Jollibee Funko Pop! figures were given away to 40 lucky customers wearing the coolest Jollibee costumes on opening day. (Photo credit: Jollibee)