Jollibee, Home of the Famous Chickenjoy, Continues U.S. Expansion with New Stores in Florida and Hawaii

Jollibee to Open First Stores in the Tampa Bay Area and Maui Following Openings Across California and Arizona

WEST COVINA, Calif., Jan. 13, 2020 /CNW/ -- With a New Year comes new opportunities to satisfy your fried chicken cravings. Popular fast-food restaurant Jollibee is adding to its U.S. store count with the addition of two new Jollibees in one week. The brand will open its first store in Florida's Tampa Bay area in the city of Pinellas Park on Friday, January 17, 2020 and its first store on the island of Maui on Friday, January 24, 2020.   

The new stores are part of the brand's plans to grow to 150 stores in the U.S. by 2023. Jollibee Pinellas Park and Jollibee Maui are the 40^th and 41^st stores to open in the U.S. and arrive on the heels of the brand's recent entrance into Arizona and further expansion across California. 2019 marked a record year for Jollibee in the U.S., as the company experienced unprecedented growth, outpacing the growth rate of the U.S. restaurant industry and exhibiting consistent double-digit growth in terms of same-store sales and profits. The company also opened the doors of its new North American headquarters in Los Angeles, California to accommodate its growing workforce and help meet its expansion goal in the U.S.

With Florida and Hawaii ranking among the top 10 states with the highest concentration of Filipinos, opening additional locations in new key areas in these states was an obvious decision for the company. Jollibee's existing stores in Jacksonville, Florida and on Hawaii's Oahu island have enjoyed much success and fans from outside these cities are clamoring to have a store in their neighborhood. "We cannot wait to welcome Jollibee fans who have long waited for their turn to finally have Jollibee in their area, in addition to welcoming new foodies intrigued by our unique menu, which we fondly describe as a joyous mash-up of Western comfort food and Asian flavors," said Beth Dela Cruz, President of Jollibee Foods Corporation North America, Philippine Brands Group. Pinellas Park, which is located within the Tampa Bay area, is known for its diverse food scene with Southern and Latin American influences. Additionally, though Jollibee already has four locations on the island of Oahu, the brand is expanding to Maui to give fans and newcomers living there an easier way to get their Chickenjoy and further add to the already vibrant food scene on the island.

Expect those in and around Pinellas Park and Maui to triumphantly exclaim, "It's Our Turn!" as they celebrate the arrival of Jollibee in their city. Jollibee is known as the 'Home of the Famous Chickenjoy' so a visit to the store would be incomplete without it. The restaurant's Chickenjoy is delicately hand-breaded and made with a secret marinade to make it crispylicious on the outside and juicylicious on the inside. Also widely loved is the brand's Jolly Spaghetti with its signature sweet-style sauce loaded with chunky slices of savory ham and hotdog, as well as Peach Mango Pie, craved for its delicious filling made with real Philippine mangoes enclosed in a light, crispy crust. Customers at both stores will also be able to try the U.S.-exclusive Chicken Sandwich, made with a 100% hand-breaded chicken breast fillet, a brioche bun, garlic aioli sauce, lettuce and tomatoes.

In honor of the brand's arrival in Pinellas Park and Maui, Jollibee will offer an exclusive tasting for select fans at each store the day before the store opens to the public. On opening day, Jollibee will also be giving away exclusive collectible items and fan-favorite products. Fans can head to Jollibee USA's Facebook and Instagram pages for more details.

Jollibee store openings in the U.S. and across the globe have been known to draw massive crowds as fans and curious newcomers alike queue up for hours and even days beforehand for a chance to be among the store's first customers. At the chain's most recent opening in Chandler, Arizona, the store welcomed thousands of customers on opening day with the first customer claiming her place in line on Christmas night, camping out for three days before the official opening?a new record in Jollibee's U.S. openings.

The Pinellas Park store is located at 4057 Park Boulevard North, Pinellas Park, FL 33781 while the Maui store will open at 270 Dairy Road, Kahului, HI 96732. Store hours for opening day and beyond are 7:00 AM to 11:00 PM, local time.

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 240 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 48 stores across the region, in the states of Arizona, California, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Washington, and Virginia of the United States, and in Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, and Saskatchewan 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 and Corporation of the Year by the Asian Business Association in 2019.

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