Jollibee is the largest fast-food chain in the Philippines with 1,400 outlets worldwide and this week will open its doors in Liverpool. Tony McDonough reports
Global fast food chain Jollibee is opening only its second site in the UK in Liverpool this week, creating 50 new jobs.
Jollibee is the largest fast-food chain in the Philippines and operates more than 1,400 outlets worldwide including US and Europe. It has developed a cult followings with long queues at openings not unusual.
Opening in Whitechapel in the city centre on Thursday, September 3, the new restaurant will offer seating capacity for 93 people across two floors. It will open 10am to 10pm every day. The company has put in place strict sanitation protocols in the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Liverpool customers will be the first to taste new menu items including Asian chicken tender rice bowl, Asian slaw and mango coconut sundae. The Jollibee brand has been described as the “best international restaurant chain” by US-based food and lifestyle website, Thrillist , and “one of the best fast food chains in the world” by New York-based magazine Travel + Leisure.
Adam Parkinson, market head of Europe for Jollibee, said: “It will be a great feeling for me as someone who grew up in North-West England to experience the people of Liverpool taking their first bite of Chickenjoy, Jollibee’s signature crispy chicken.
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“Before joining Jollibee, I hadn’t come across a fast food company that was able to hold onto their family values while achieving their global dreams.”
Jollibee plans to open another 50 stores in the UK over the next three to five years with the next store opening planned for Leicester at the end of 2020. The company has designed new branding, packaging and restaurant designs, created specifically for the UK audience.
It opens in Liverpool during a time of great uncertainty for the local food and drink sector which has felt the devastating effects of the COVID-19 crisis. However, in the last few days the Liverpool BID Company has released data showing a surge in city centre footfall during August, thanks to the Government’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme.