Filipinos in Manhattan can now get their favorite chickenjoy— and a taste of home— at Jollibee’s new location at 609 Eighth Avenue near Times Square and Port Authority. During its opening on Saturday, Jollibee fans queued up hours before the doors opened at 8:00 AM, despite the heavy downpour.
The popular fast-food chain’ 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 welcome the guests who excitedly trooped into the restaurant after the ceremonial ribbon was cut.
In photo: Jollibee Foods Corporation’s (JFC) Group President for North America Jose Miñana
“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 outlet 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.
In photo: Jollibee Manhattan’s first customers, Justin Callan and Faye Javier
Customers #1 and #2, Justin Callan and Faye Javier, lined up 20 hours before the store opened at 8:00 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.”
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 also awarded to creative customers who showed up in Jollibee costumes for the opening.
Jollibee Manhattan has new offers, including 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.
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.
