We've been talking for so long about Jollibee opening in Vancouver that's it's hard to believe it might ever happen, but - no joke - it really is happening.
The Filipino fast-food chain beloved around the globe will open its first-ever B.C. franchise on Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. Vancouver's first Jollibee is located in the heart of Vancouver at 833 Granville Street.
Vancouver's Jollibee restaurant has been in the works for years now, and while there were some signs of life at the location over the years, progress has been slow. But over the past few weeks, passers-by have noted some serious progress at the location, and only just recently Jollibee Canada finally listed the downtown Vancouver restaurant on its website as opening soon.
Last week, V.I.A. reached out to Jollibee and was informed by a rep they "are working to finalize [the] opening date" for the Vancouver location. On Feb. 23, PR reps for Jollibee revealed the franchise would open Friday.
Jollibee, nicknamed the "McDonald's of the Philippines" dates back to 1978, however, its first Canadian location didn't launch until 2016, which was in Winnipeg. There are over 1,200 Jollibee franchises worldwide, including in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, the Middle East, North America, and Italy. In Canada, Jollibee operates locations in Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area; Calgary; Edmonton; and Regina - and soon to be in Vancouver.
What's on the menu at Jollibee?
Beloved for their spaghetti, crispy chicken, burgers, and peach mango pies, Jollibee is all about American-style fast-food fused with Filipino flavours and influences. Their menu includes items with cult followings like the Yumburger and Chicken Joy, and their spaghetti features a sweeter Americanized tomato sauce with sliced hot dogs and cheese on top.
Vancouver customers will find all the classic Jollibee items on the menu, along with the chain's newest offering, a crispy fried chicken sandwich, also available in a spicy version.
To start, however, Vancouver's Jollibee will have limited service options: "Jollibee didn’t want Vancouverites to have to wait a minute longer to get their hands on its menu items; however, at this time, the Granville Street store is only accepting take-out orders with the goal to offer dine-in, online ordering and delivery in the coming weeks," says a media rep for the fast food giant.
When Jollibee confirmed in 2015 their move into the Canadian market, they had ambitious plans to open hundreds of locations, focusing initially on cities with high concentrations of Filipino populations - hence their headquarters and first location in Winnipeg.
Plans for expanding to Vancouver were finalized a few years later, and the franchise claimed the Granville Street space that had previously been home to ShuRaku, a Japanese restaurant that shuttered in September 2018.
Since announcing Jollibee's first Vancouver outpost, two more locations in the region have been confirmed: a second in Vancouver at Cambie and Broadway and one in Surrey's Strawberry Hill area. So far, those locations do not appear on the Jollibee Canada website.
Right now Jollibee is working to get 20 locations open in 2022 across North America.
Jollibee Vancouver will be open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
