This Famous Fried Chicken Chain Is Making Big Moves To Expand In The US

Fried chicken is an enduringly popular genre for fast food and quick-service restaurants. Even though this restaurant segment is quite crowded, one well-known chain is making some exciting moves toward an enormous expansion in the U.S. and Canada.

The Filipino fried chicken chain Jollibee announced in a press release that it plans to open a whopping 350 new locations in the U.S. and Canada in coming years, a massive jump from the 76 American and 28 Canadian stores it currently has. Jollibee's aggressive expansion plans are founded on high hopes for its new franchising program, backed by strong sales at its company-owned stores in the U.S. and Canada.

Jollibee is targeting already-successful restaurant franchisees to open and operate new locations in a variety of configurations, including mall entrances, strip malls, and stand-alone stores with or without drive-thrus. With enough franchising success, Jollibee aims to eventually expand to airports, college towns, and more high-traffic locales. If fried chicken isn't your thing, there's still reason to celebrate. The chain also offers some unexpected menu items like spaghetti, burgers, and the Filipino noodle dish Palabok Fiesta.

Jollibee is one of the fastest-growing chain restaurants in the United States. But although it's a relative newcomer in America, Jollibee has decades of deliciously high quality behind these bold expansion plans.

The business that would become Jollibee started in 1975 as a popular ice cream parlor in Manila, founded by Dr. Tony Tan Caktiong and staffed by his family. Three successful years later, Caktiong realized the bigger business potential that hot food offered and converted his ice cream parlors to new restaurants. Soon, the name Jollibee was born, along with a literal jolly bee for a mascot, and the business began to take its modern form. The first North American restaurant was opened in California in 1998, and the brand expanded from there. In 2024, U.S.-based Jollibee stores averaged gross sales of $4.3 million, making further expansion in North America a no-brainer.

With Jollibee's big plans poised to change the landscape of U.S. and Canadian fast food, you may be planning your first visit sooner than you think. Make sure you brush up on and avoid common Jollibee ordering mistakes, like not trying the iconic Pineapple Quencher, so you can make the most out of stepping up to the register for the first time.