Fast-Food Sensation Jollibee Continues Aggressive North American Expansion with Two New Canadian Locations in One Week

REGINA, Saskatchewan, Dec. 17, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Just in time for the holidays, popular fast-food restaurant Jollibee is giving the gift of Jolly Crispy Chicken to even more Canadians. The brand will open its fourth location in the Greater Toronto Area at Vaughan Promenade on December 20, 2019 and its first store in the Saskatchewan province in Regina on Sunday, December 22, 2019.

The two openings round out a record-breaking year for the brand in North America. In 2019, Jollibee experienced unprecedented growth in the U.S., growing at five times the rate of the U.S. industry and exhibiting consistent double-digit growth in terms of same-store sales and profits. In Canada, the brand has rapidly added stores across the country since its entrance in 2016, opening multiple locations within the Ontario and Alberta provinces in the past year alone. The brand's most recent openings in Edmonton and Calgary experienced record-breaking line-ups on their opening days as thousands of customers descended on the stores to get a taste of Jollibee. Looking ahead, Jollibee is projecting to grow to 250 stores across North America by 2023 ? 150 branches in the U.S. and 100 branches in Canada.

The new Vaughan Promenade and Regina stores mark Jollibee's eighth and ninth locations in Canada and 47^th and 48^th stores in North America, respectively. "It's important for us to make Jollibee as accessible as possible to our customers so we're working to have a presence in all the major provinces in Canada," said Maribeth Dela Cruz, President of JFC Philippine Brands Group - North America. "We knew Saskatchewan had to be next on our list as this province has a strong Filipino community and continues to grow. Regina is the capital of Saskatchewan and one of the major cities in the province so it was the perfect choice for our first store here. We cannot wait to bring our fellow Filipinos a 'taste of home' and encourage Regina locals to come see for themselves why our delicious Jolly Crispy Chicken is so sought after. As for our Vaughan Promenade store, our plan all along has been to strategically spread out our store network across the Greater Toronto Area to give our customers more options to satisfy their Jollibee cravings."

Expect those in and around Vaughan Promenade and Regina to exclaim, "It's Our Turn!" as they line up in droves to get a taste of Jollibee's signature offerings this week. Jolly Crispy Chicken is Jollibee's headliner, which is delicately hand-breaded and made with a secret marinade to make it crispylicious on the outside and juicylicious on the inside. It is best complemented by a side of silky gravy or the chain's signature sweet-style Jolly Spaghetti loaded with chunky slices of savory ham and hotdog. Other favorites include Palabok Fiesta, a traditional Filipino noodle dish covered in garlic-shrimp sauce, crushed pork rind, shrimp and egg as well as the brand's Burger Steak which is a beef patty topped with a creamy mushroom gravy. The Jollibee experience is made complete with its Peach Mango Pie, beloved for its delicious gooey filling made with real Philippine mangoes enclosed in a light, crispy crust.

To celebrate the brand's further expansion in the Greater Toronto Area and arrival in the Saskatchewan province, Jollibee will be hosting a number of exclusive giveaways around the openings, including an advance tasting for select customers at the Regina store and prizes such as a year's supply of Jolly Crispy Chicken (that's a six-piece bucket every month for a year!), coveted Jollibee Funko Pop! figures and other Jollibee collectibles. Customers can head to Jollibee Canada's Facebook page for more details.

Jollibee store openings in Canada and across the globe have been known to draw massive crowds as fans and curious newcomers alike queue up for even days beforehand for a chance to be among the store's first customers. At the recent Calgary and Edmonton openings, the first customers in line waited two and three days, respectively before the stores officially opened their doors.  

The Vaughan Promenade store will be located at 1 Promenade Circle Unit E267, Thornhill, ON, L4J 4P8 while the Regina store will open at 2830 Quance Street, Regina, SK, S4V 3B9.

Jollibee is the flagship brand of Jollibee Foods Corporation's 15 brands. JFC is one of the world's largest and fastest growing Asian restaurant companies with more than 5,800 stores in 35 countries.

About Jollibee

Jollibee is the largest fast food chain brand in the Philippines, operating a Philippine network of more than 1,400 stores. A dominant market leader in the Philippines, Jollibee has embarked on an aggressive international expansion plan.

Jollibee has more than 230 international branches including in the United States, Canada, Hong Kong, Macau, Brunei, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Italy, and in the United Kingdom.

In North America, Jollibee opened its first store in 1998 in Daly City, California. It now operates 46 stores across the region, in the states of California, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Washington, and Virginia of the United States, and in Manitoba, Ontario, and Alberta 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.

About Jollibee Foods Corporation

Jollibee Foods Corporation is one of the largest and fastest growing Asian restaurant companies in the world.

It operates in 35 countries, with over 5,800 stores globally with branches in the Philippines, United States, Canada, People's Republic of China (including Hong Kong and Macau), United Kingdom, Italy, Vietnam, Brunei, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Indonesia, Costa Rica, Egypt, El Salvador, Panama, and Malaysia. It has 8 wholly-owned brands (Jollibee, Chowking, Greenwich, Red Ribbon, Mang Inasal, Yonghe King, Hong Zhuang Yuan and Smashburger), 2 franchised brands (Burger King in the Philippines and Dunkin' Donuts in certain territories in China), a 60% ownership in the SuperFoods Group that owns Highland Coffee and PHO24 brands.

JFC 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 a business venture with award-winning Chef Rick Bayless to build a Mexican fast-casual restaurant business in the United States. JFC has also recently entered into a joint venture agreement to open Panda Express in the Philippines.

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 'Asia's Fab 50 Companies' by Forbes Asia Magazine.

Jollibee Foods Corporation has grown brands that bring delightful dining experiences to its customers worldwide, in line with its mission of serving great tasting food and spreading the joy of eating to everyone.

SOURCE Jollibee