Jollibee opens first store in cold, cold Canada

Nothing can stop Pinoys from getting their crispylicious and juicylicious chicken! Not even snow.

Filipino fast food giant Jollibee on Dec 15 opened its first store in Winnipeg, Canada. Dozens of Filipinos in jackets and scarves braved the cold (hovering at -26 degrees!) to have a taste of home.

Jollibee’s first customer, Jason Ladera, lined up at 10:30 pm the night prior. He shared that he worked in a Jollibee branch in the Philippines almost 20 years ago. Having lived in Winnipeg for about five years now, he “missed home” and he “missed Jollibee.” He even took his son with him to wait for the opening!

Jollibee is the biggest fast-food chain in the Philippines. It is best known for fried chicken (don’t dare steal Jollibee fried chicken skin from a Filipino!), Pinoy-style sweet spaghetti, and peach-mango pie made from Filipino mangoes!

In Aug, Jollibee opened a branch in Skokie and it was welcomed with a “rock star arrival.”

READ: Jollibee opens first store in Chicago (and there’s a giant chickenjoy bucket)

Knowing that hundreds of fans will flock the opening day in Winnipeg,  Jollibee came up with tips to make the trip easier.

Jollibee had a ticketing system in place and a CAD50-limit per transaction. The management also advised their patrons to plan their orders and to carpool to the area because of the limited space.

Of course, the big ‘ol Bee had to make an appearance. He arrived in style and had a scarf on.

Congratulations, Jollibee! Indeed you’ve come a long, long way.