Jollibee's U.S. Expansion Continues with First Florida Location Opening

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., March 17, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- After much anticipation and excitement, Jollibee, the largest Asian restaurant company, is finally coming to Jacksonville, Florida. This is the 36^th store in the US, as well as the first in the state and Southeast US. It will open to the public on Saturday, March 18, 2017.

Jacksonville is the most populous city in the Sunshine State, and home to the largest Filipino-American community in Florida. The long-awaited arrival of Jollibee in the city has been the talk of the town since 2016.

With the opening, Floridians will get to try Jollibee's signature menu items such as the world famous Chickenjoy. This dish is delicately breaded to be crispylicious on the outside and juicylicious inside. The well-loved Jolly Spaghetti is a favorite of both kids and kids-at-heart because of its signature sweet-style sauce, loaded with chunky slices of savory ham, ground meat, and hotdog. Other classic menu favorites include the juicy and cheesy Jolly Hotdog, and the Peach Mango Pie, which is made with real Philippine sweet mangoes and a flaky golden brown crust.

"As Jollibee debuts in Florida, we anticipate seeing not only a multitude of excited Jollibee patrons waiting to get their hands on their Jollibee favorites, but also first-timers waiting to have their own Jollibee experience," said Jose Miñana, Jollibee Foods Corporation's Group President for North America. "There's no greater joy for us than serving the needs and tastes of Jollibee fans in the community. At Jollibee, we aim to bring families together for happy moments over great tasting food with superior value, served with warm and friendly service – our own brand of joy."

Similar to recent openings in Skokie (first store in Illinois) and Winnipeg (first store in Canada), Jollibee is expecting its loyal fans to line up even before the sun rises on opening day, just to be among the first in the Sunshine State to get a taste of Jollibee. The brand has become a symbol of nostalgia and warm childhood memories for many overseas Filipinos in the U.S. To many, Jollibee is the go-to restaurant of Filipinos for both special events and everyday occasions.

Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC) is currently the largest Asian restaurant company in market capitalization, operating in 14 markets, with a total of 3,254 stores globally, of which 1,145 are Jollibee brand stores. The company's aggressive expansion plan in North America is part of its overarching goal to be among the top five restaurant brands globally. In its pipeline, Jollibee also has plans to open its first store in Manhattan, New York.

"Ever since our early beginnings as an ice cream parlor back in 1975, it has always been our mission to bring joy to families and friends over good food," says Ernesto Tanmantiong, Jollibee Foods Corporation CEO. "More than 40 years and 1,000 stores later, we continue to fulfill this by expanding our horizons to a global market. We still get a thrill each and every time we open a new store and introduce our brand of happiness to different parts of the world."

About the Jollibee Brand
Jollibee is the largest fast food chain brand in the Philippines, operating a Philippine network of more than 950 stores. A dominant market leader in the Philippines, Jollibee has embarked on an aggressive international expansion plan, now with more than 150 international stores.

Technomic has consistently cited Jollibee among its Top 500 ranking restaurants in the United States.

About Jollibee Foods Corporation
Jollibee Foods Corporation is the largest Asian restaurant company and the largest restaurant company in the Philippines. It operates over 3,000 stores globally with store branches in the Philippines, United States, Canada, China, Brunei, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain. The brands under its portfolio are Jollibee, Greenwich, Chowking, Red Ribbon, Mang Inasal, Burger King Philippines, Yonghe King, and Hong Zhuang Yuan.

JFC also has considerable investments with the brands Highlands Coffee, Pho 24, 12 Hotpot, Dunkin Donuts in China and U.S. based burger chain Smashburger.

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.

SOURCE Jollibee