NEW YORK, USA – When Jollibee opened the doors to its first store in Manhattan, New York City in 2018, customers arrived in droves.
They braved the rain. A few came dressed as the restaurant’s iconic red bee mascot. Others claimed to have waited in line for over 20 hours.
The Eighth Avenue location, located near Times Square, was Jollibee’s 41st store in North America, and the first of three branches in New York City.
In just six years, the homegrown Filipino fast-food chain would more than double its number of stores in North America and establish a fanbase that rivals the likes of McDonald’s and KFC.
New York City resident Daniel Kim visited Jollibee’s flagship Times Square location with his fiancée, Izzie Penn. Kim, who moved to New York from Metro Manila for school two years ago, said that he eats at Jollibee when he’s missing home and craves Filipino food.
