By Nicky Gocuan & Hermo Pagtakhan
Jollibee, the Number 1 fast food chain in the Philippines, opened its first Alberta location last Friday, August 16 at 3803 Calgary Trail in Edmonton.
Jordan Haworth was first in line and waited 72 hours to be the first client to be handed the Joy for a Year Certificate. The Certificate was awarded to the first 50 in line. Recipients are entitled to a bucket of Jolly Crispy Chicken per month for a year and Haworth received his award from Jollibee North America’s President, Maribeth De La Cruz.
Haworth sets a new record for the longest time a person has waited in line for a Jollibee to open. Not only did Haworth break a record, the 5thJollibee Store to open in Canada also set a new record for successfully serving about 8,000 happy clients on opening day, thus showing that Edmonton welcomed Jollibee with a big bang. One of the clients who lined up on the first day came from as far a Nova Scotia, which is 9 hours by plane. They flew in just to taste the world-famous Chicken Joy and Sweet Spaghetti on opening day which the person dearly missed.
If you think it is just hype, then you are wrong. On the second and third day, people continued to line up. Why? There is food that tastes good and food that inspires obsession. Jollibee is simply a fast food company that has food with both those qualities.
Jollibee has a vision to become one of the top 5 largest restaurant chains in the world. This is a feat that cannot be achieved without a very dedicated and hardworking team, led by its Founder and Chairman Tony Tan Caktiong, and De la Cruz who is President of Jollibee North America.
“Our Founder has always said Dream Big, [and] that has been his mindset since day one that he opened Jollibee” says Luis Velasco III, VP International Marketing.
As the chain progresses in Canada, its goal is to open 100 branches in the country over the next 5 years.
For fans who did not find their favorite Jolly Hotdog or Halo Halo on the menu, do not lose hope. “We continue to review our Menu daily,” says Velasco III.
Jollibee is more than just a Filipino restaurant. It symbolizes and represents the Philippines and for Filipinos living abroad, it gives one a true taste of home. Jollibee is a national treasure, a source of national pride, very much like Filipino World Boxing Champion Manny Pacquiao.
The Filipino fast food chain has been in the Philippines for over 40 years, successfully offering customers great food and service at a great value.
After the Jollibee team achieved its dream of becoming the number one fast food chain in the Philippines, Chairman Tan Caktiong encouraged his team to dream big and aim to be number one in Asia, which the company has successfully achieved. What makes Jollibee so successful is its hardworking team that strives to go above and beyond expectations. They also follow proven practices and methods that have made them a Fab 50 Company in Asia.
“As a way of giving back to the community in North America, we have tied up with the National Boys & Girls Club in US and Canada. It’s a partnership we started two years ago to help give back to the community who has supported us,” says Velasco III.
JFC is one of the world’s largest and fastest growing Asian restaurant companies with more than 4,500 store in 21 Countries.
Photos by: Nicky Gocuan, Hermo Pagtakhan and Katrina Cereno
