Jollibee coming to Jax!

[spuwho]

March 18 opening

http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=549432

I will be there!

[I-10east]

Some Orlando area haters are complaining on FB (Jollibee page) talking about Orlando/South Florida should've gotten Jollibee first in FL; better believe that I was responding to their posts getting them straight too. It would've made no sense to skip a Top 5 test market with the largest Filipino population in the state for a city further South. Haters are gonna hate LOL

[seaspray]

^ The Filipino population in those areas are too spread out.

Jax is perfect for FL's 1st Jollibee. I think a better argument would have been whether to locate it in Orange Park or in the Kernan area. But just an observation, Sandalwood high felt like it was 1/4 Filipino students, and that was 20 years ago. So I think the current location was a good decision

[Keith-N-Jax]

Lots of new places to eat downtown and surrounding areas.

[JaxJersey-licious]

Some Orlando area haters are complaining on FB (Jollibee page) talking about Orlando/South Florida should've gotten Jollibee first in FL; better believe that I was responding to their posts getting them straight too. It would've made no sense to skip a Top 5 test market with the largest Filipino population in the state for a city further South. Haters are gonna hate LOL

Can you, blame 'em? You'd be a little butthurt too if you're told your municipality is worthy of getting first dibs on nice things    You do make a great point about Jollibee choosing Jacksonville as their first deep south location but demographics isn't the only factor at play in their franchise decision-making. It's about gauging demand, and one way to do this is to get a closer look at the community their most likely to target.

As a former First Coast resident of Filipino descent, I saw first-hand with my involvement with some of these Filipino groups and organizations how they celebrated and exposed others to their culture, how involved they were in numerous civic-minded activities, how they encouraged and supported one another's businesses and trades, the strength of their faith, and the pride they had of not just being from the Philippines but as Jaxsons and Americans as well. Other people in town see that, and you can be sure that caught the eye of the Jollibee bigwigs. Them placing their first Florida location in Jacksonville is an acknowledgement of the strength of the area's Pinoy community rather than its numbers. And that's not to knock the pride and passion of the Tampa, Orlando, or Broward County Fil-Am people - in time hopefully they'll be rewarded accordingly.

An example that Jollibee is looking at more than just demos is the fact that despite the Metro DC area having the biggest population of Filipinos in the Mid-Atlantic they placed their only regional franchise not there but in Hampton Roads. I've been to both areas and they each have strong and vibrant Filipino communities, but the one in Virginia Beach/Norfolk is more tight-knit and thus got theirs.

More importantly, I'm hoping a Jollibee restaurant will have the affect similar to the region having an Ikea or football franchise or Ritz-Carlton by putting us on the map. The recognition of the Jax Filipino community as a result of Jollibee's presence will hopefully lead to future investment with benefits far beyond any one industry, culture, or group. Jacksonville's strength is like the opposite of a chain: It isn't derived from it's weakest link, but by the strength of it's numerous and diverse links.

So get ready to get in line for the opening, Jacksonville (Seriously! People are starting to camp out there now).

[spuwho]

The line at Jollibee is now at 3 hours!!!!! I kid you not!

JSO is managing traffic. The parking lot in front is full. It is crazy!

Jollibee brought in 3 extra reefers to handle the crush of orders. Insane.

[ProjectMaximus]

WOW! Pics or it didnt happen. 

[spuwho]

WOW! Pics or it didnt happen. 

Ask you shall receive.

The reefers are on the far right. The JSO officers are just out of the picture on the right.

On the left side is the 1 hour and 2 hour wait of the line. Then it continues to the right where it gets to three hours.  The manager gave me a big warning that it was taking 3 hours to reach the order window.

[ProjectMaximus]

Thanks for the pic. Dang! I'll have to give it a try some time. When I was visiting the Phillippines I thought it was mediocre, but I mean it's hard to compare favorably to the rest of the awesome food we ate.

[Adam White]

What's the big deal about this place? I don't mean to sound like a jerk, so try to read that as just a question.

I thought it was Filipino fast food, but reading up on it, I saw that is was a PI-based chain of American-style fast food restaurants. When I looked at the menu, it didn't seem very different than American food.

Edit: I've got nothing against fast food - prior to going vegetarian, I was a huge Whatagurger fan.

[JaxJersey-licious]

What's the big deal about this place? I don't mean to sound like a jerk, so try to read that as just a question.

I thought it was Filipino fast food, but reading up on it, I saw that is was a PI-based chain of American-style fast food restaurants. When I looked at the menu, it didn't seem very different than American food.

Edit: I've got nothing against fast food - prior to going vegetarian, I was a huge Whatagurger fan.

"What's the big deal about this place?" is a fair question. The easy answer is not much, that it is (fast food) what it is nothing more but a fair inquiry deserves a fair response, so here goes...

First off, there is a lot of Filipino dishes offered in their international stores outside of the traditional burgers and fried chicken they're known for: palabok, sotanghon, Jufran-style spaghetti, Halo-Halo, buko and ube flavored drinks. Some items were offered seasonally, others are given Anglicized names.

But what really makes Jollibee important to so many is its role of placemaker. If you grew up in The Philippines during the late 70's to today, Jollibee was such an ubiquitous presence there. There is a lot of pride in the fact that this is a Filipino born and bred international success story, but more importantly many have described to me that Jollibee has the taste and feel of their childhood, of many happy memories, of home.

And don't forget that the Jollibee in Jacksonville is truly a regional draw. The next nearest one from here is over 500 miles away and with relatively easy access from I-295 it has the ability of attracting people that normally bypass Jax on their way to other Florida destinations. Early signs have shown people have come from far and wide to the grand opening this weekend but so many more are planning future visits here as well and possibly sticking around getting gas, shopping, maybe checking out what else Jacksonville has to offer and being pleasantly surprised. Placemaking!

[JaxJersey-licious]

And a PRO TIP  for those non-Filipinos curious about Jollibee and want a taste of something more like the real thing: When Jollibee JAX starts offering breakfast, ask specifically for the garlic fried rice and tocino! DO NOT look for it on the menu - ii may be there but I forget what kind of silly 'Murican-like name they called it. Try not to order it at the drive-thru, GO IN! If you get a Filipino-American order taker, they'll know what you're talking 'bout 

That (along with some nice runny eggs) are as close to an authentic Filipino breakfast since canned corned beef and Spam are nothing new to Americans. All other traditional Filipino dishes offered for lunch, dinner, and dessert are done much better by the numerous Filipino restaurants and caterers in the area but are certainly worth a try.

For vegetarians, the Peach Mango pies always hit the spot. And RUN! don't walk to Jollibee when they bring back their Pineapple Floats!

[Adam White]

What's the big deal about this place? I don't mean to sound like a jerk, so try to read that as just a question.

I thought it was Filipino fast food, but reading up on it, I saw that is was a PI-based chain of American-style fast food restaurants. When I looked at the menu, it didn't seem very different than American food.

Edit: I've got nothing against fast food - prior to going vegetarian, I was a huge Whatagurger fan.

"What's the big deal about this place?" is a fair question. The easy answer is not much, that it is (fast food) what it is nothing more but a fair inquiry deserves a fair response, so here goes...

First off, there is a lot of Filipino dishes offered in their international stores outside of the traditional burgers and fried chicken they're known for: palabok, sotanghon, Jufran-style spaghetti, Halo-Halo, buko and ube flavored drinks. Some items were offered seasonally, others are given Anglicized names.

But what really makes Jollibee important to so many is its role of placemaker. If you grew up in The Philippines during the late 70's to today, Jollibee was such an ubiquitous presence there. There is a lot of pride in the fact that this is a Filipino born and bred international success story, but more importantly many have described to me that Jollibee has the taste and feel of their childhood, of many happy memories, of home.

And don't forget that the Jollibee in Jacksonville is truly a regional draw. The next nearest one from here is over 500 miles away and with relatively easy access from I-295 it has the ability of attracting people that normally bypass Jax on their way to other Florida destinations. Early signs have shown people have come from far and wide to the grand opening this weekend but so many more are planning future visits here as well and possibly sticking around getting gas, shopping, maybe checking out what else Jacksonville has to offer and being pleasantly surprised. Placemaking!

Thanks for the detailed answer.

I can see it's quite a big deal. So regardless of what it's serving, if it's got long lines like that and making that much of an impact, it's great for Jacksonville.

[spuwho]

I am excited about a newcomer to greater Jacksonville.

Granted, I am not into fried chicken, but they have other dishes as well I want to try out.

I wasn't big on Pollo Tropical when they came here, but I acquired a taste for it.

So if I go there a hundred times or once a year, I am glad we have a broader cultural experience in town.

[ProjectMaximus]

^True. Now if you can get a Bonchon to Jax I will be forever grateful. (I know, you said you're not into fried chicken lol)

https://bonchon.com