April 02, 2018 , 07:48pm

Fans make a Beeline for Jollibee’s first GTA location

Jollibee Scarborough’s first customer, Paul Magbujos (Photo: Irish Mae Silvestre)

By Irish Mae Silvestre
The Philippine Reporter

Jollibee by Numbers

• 1 store in Scarborough with a second planned for Mississauga

• 2 the number of stores in Winnipeg

• 16 the number of markets in which Jollibee currently operates

• 40 the current total of stores in North America

• 1,000 the number of stores across the Philippines

• It started in 1975 as an ice cream parlor and then Jollibee Foods Corporation was formed in 1978 with a network of 7 fast food stores

• 1998 the year the first store opened in Daly City, California

• 3,800 the number of Jollibee Foods Corporation stores globally

Jose Miñana, Jr., Jollibee Foods Corporation Group president for North America. (Photo: Irish Mae Silvestre)

“[Jollibee] just brings back really good memories and I think [people] want to relive that.” – Jose Miñana, Jr., Jollibee Foods Corporation Group President for North America

The anticipation and speculation is over as Jollibee finally opened its doors on April 1 to its first GTA location in Scarborough. While commenters online wondered if it was an elaborate April Fool’s joke, it was very much a happy reality for Filipino-Canadians, many of whom have waited years for a store in Ontario. Together with family friends, they packed two large heated tents hours before sunrise.

The -4C temperature was certainly no deterrent for determined diners who braved the cold Easter Sunday morning for a taste of Jolly Crispy Chicken. The Jollibee mascot kicked off the party by dancing to ‘My Bestfriend Jollibee’ (the Jollibee song) and taking selfies with eager fans. With the scent of fried chicken in the air and the excitement surrounding the event, it was hard to imagine that it was only 7 a.m.

Lines inside one of two heated tents. (Photo provided)

A Warm Welcome

“I’m just overwhelmed, overjoyed and really humbled by the effort that [customers] took,” said Jose Miñana, Jr., Jollibee Foods Corporation Group President for North America. “I’ve had the chance, in my almost 25 years with Jollibee, to be present at many hundreds of store openings but I’ve never met somebody who was willing to wait for 17 hours to have his Jolly Crispy Chicken.”

And, it turned out, the early bird gets the bucket of Chickenjoy. Paul Magbujos suddenly found himself in the spotlight as Jollibee Scarborough’s first customer. Magbujos, who was also saving a spot for his family, waited in line the day before on Saturday at 2.30 p.m. and said that he kept warm by “walking and jogging.”

“The moment I knew they were opening here in Toronto, I kept dreaming about this,” he said. “The last time I had Jollibee was six years ago.”

And his efforts were rewarded: Magbujos received a Jollibee plush doll, a limited edition Jollibee Swatch watch and a certificate for free Jollibee each month for a year. “It was cold though, that’s the only thing but it was worth the wait,” he said, smiling.

The first 40 customers with a minimum purchase of $30 on April 1 got a coupon that allows them to redeem a free 6-pc bucket of Jolly Crispy Chicken every month starting May 2018 to April 2019. No minimum purchase requirement is needed when they redeem the buckets at the store, and it is only 1 bucket per month, can’t be redeemed all at the same time.

Leticia Magnaye
(Photo: Irish Mae Silvestre)

However, others like Leticia Magnaye, weren’t so fortunate. “I came here to experience the chicken and it’s so much fun with lots of people waiting to go inside but we were not lucky,” she said. “We got here at 4.30 a.m. this morning but some of them were here at 2.30 p.m. or 3 p.m. March 31 afternoon.

“Maybe we’ll come back tomorrow so the line is not that busy,” she added.

According to Jollibee’s official Instagram account, estimated wait times on opening day varied between six to seven hours.

A Taste of Home

“Jolly morning!” greeted the staff, as customers walked in to place their order.

On the menu were some of the chain’s greatest hits: Jolly Crispy Chicken, Jolly Spaghetti, Palabok Fiesta and Peach Mango Pie. As orders were rung up, it wasn’t long until buckets of Chickenjoy were flying off the counter and people were tucking into the spaghetti and sipping on pineapple juice.

“We might consider developing products specific to the Canadian market in the future,” explained Miñana. “But, for now, these are not yet in the plans as we focus on spreading the joy of eating with our current Jolly favorites.”

Paul Magbujos receives a certificate for a free bucket of chicken every month for a year.

Despite being a homegrown brand, Miñana hopes that other non-Filipinos will give Jollibee a try. “[We] wish to share the Jollibee experience with local foodies in the Greater Toronto Area, and in particular, with people who have never tried Jollibee before,” he said.

Established in 1978, this year marks Jollibee’s 40th anniversary, with Scarborough being their 40th location in North America. In the United States, stores are located in California, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Washington and Virginia. The brand made its first foray into the Canadian market in 2016 by opening the first of two locations in Winnipeg.

“We’ve had some training in Winnipeg where it was a lot colder,” recalled Miñana. “We opened in December in 2016 and, I can’t forget this, there was a wind chill of -30. So this is lovely weather for us.”

So why Toronto? “Well, it’s home to the most number of Filipinos here in Canada,” said Miñana. “Scarborough, I know, is at the core of that.”

A second location in Mississauga is in the pipeline sometime this year.

He added that part of Jollibee’s continued popularity among the immigrant population is the nostalgia associated with the brand, such as memories of “family time and birthday celebrations with barkadas (friends). “It just brings back really good memories and I think they all want to relive that,” said Miñana.

Located at 15 William Kitchen Road, Scarborough