Jollibee to Set Record with 2021 North American Expansion Plans

The popular fast food chain will be opening 28 stores across the U.S. and Canada next year, as it works towards its goal of amassing 300 stores by 2024

WEST COVINA, Calif., Dec. 3, 2020 /CNW/ -- Setting its sights on 2021, popular fast-food chain Jollibee will add 28 stores to its North American network, 19 in the U.S. and nine in Canada. The 2021 expansion will mark Jollibee's largest ever addition to its North American store network in company history.  

2020 was previously the brand's most aggressive year yet. Already this year, Jollibee safely and successfully opened 12 stores across North America amid the pandemic. Before year's end, Jollibee will open five new stores, led by openings in San Antonio, Texas, and San Diego, California in the U.S. and a location on the historic Yonge Street in Toronto, Canada. Other stores opening this month include the brand's third Houston-area store on Westheimer Road and first store in Delano, California. In total, these December openings will bring Jollibee's count to 17 new stores this year.

Though the pandemic has delivered challenges across the restaurant industry, Jollibee has been able to persevere by focusing on off-premise channels apart from dine-in. At the onset of the pandemic, the brand encouraged its customers to experience the joy of Jollibee from the comfort and safety of their own homes via call ahead pick-up, take-out and drive-thru. By April, Jollibee announced the launch of its nationwide delivery service via DoorDash.

"We have remained nimble and optimistic which has led Jollibee to defy expectations amidst an extremely difficult year and experience double-digit sales growth across North America," said Maribeth Dela Cruz, President of Jollibee Group North America, Philippine Brands. "Make no mistake though, we would not be weathering these hard times without the support of our customers. They've showed up for us and now we want to show up for them. This month we will be opening long-awaited stores across Texas, California, and Ontario, Canada. We're incredibly grateful for the continued support we've received from across these regions and are thrilled to deliver a small spark of joy as we enter the holiday season."

Today, Jollibee will be opening its 21^st store in California located at 8436 Mira Mesa Boulevard in San Diego. The new location marks the brand's return to Mira Mesa and a concerted effort to build up its store network in the San Diego area which is home to a sizable Filipino community. The new store is situated in the area's biggest retail hub, near Mira Mesa Mall and in close proximity to the University of California San Diego, the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar and Scripps Memorial Hospital.  

Later this month, Jollibee will be opening a store on downtown Toronto's historic Yonge Street. Located at 334 Yonge Street, Toronto, Ontario, the area is often referred to as the 'Times Square of Toronto' as it is a major retail hub with heavy pedestrian traffic. 

Finally, Jollibee will be opening its first location in San Antonio, Texas. Located at 5033 NW Loop 410, this also marks Jollibee's first store in south central Texas as the brand has three other stores across the greater Houston area. Texas plays a key role in Jollibee's U.S. expansion strategy. As the second largest city in the state, San Antonio represents a major milestone for the brand and is a sign of Jollibee's continued growth in the U.S.

To provide a safe environment for customers and store team members in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the dining rooms of all of these stores will remain closed until further notice. Each store will offer a mix of alternative channels for receiving food, including call ahead and pick-up, take-out, drive-thru and delivery services.

For more information on these and Jollibee's 2021 store openings, stay tuned to the Jollibee USA and Jollibee Canada Facebook pages, as well as the Jollibee USA and Jollibee Canada Instagram pages for official opening dates and store hours.

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 58 stores across the region, with 45 stores in the states of Arizona, California, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Washington, and Virginia of the United States, and 13 stores across Manitoba, Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan, 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 Group
Jollibee Group is one of the fastest-growing Asian restaurant companies in the world. It operates in 34 countries, with over 5,800 stores globally with branches in the Philippines, United States, Canada, the 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, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan, and India. It has 8 wholly-owned brands (Jollibee, Chowking, Greenwich, Red Ribbon, Mang Inasal, Yonghe King, Hong Zhuang Yuan, Smashburger), 3 franchised brands (Burger King and Panda Express in the Philippines, Dunkin' Donuts in certain territories in China), 80% ownership of The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, and 60% ownership in the SuperFoods Group that owns Highlands Coffee and PHO24 brands.  Jollibee Group has entered also into a joint venture agreement with the Tim Ho Wan Group to open and operate Tim Ho Wan restaurants in Mainland China. 

Jollibee Group is a significant investor in Titan Dining LP, the ultimate holding entity of Tim Ho Wan Pte. Ltd., and has a business venture with award-winning Chef Rick Bayless for Tortazo, a Mexican fast-casual restaurant business in the United States.

Jollibee Group has been named the Philippines' most admired company by the Asian Wall Street Journal for ten years and was honored as one of 'Asia's Fab 50 Companies' by Forbes Asia Magazine.

Jollibee Group 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

Francesca Lee, Ogilvy, [email protected]