‘It’s home’: Jollibee joy spreads to north Winnipeg

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This article was published 27/11/2017 (2488 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Greyshel Lacson gets flashbacks when she bites into a Jollibee’s hamburger steak.

The memories are of an open Jollibee bus transporting her as a child past the buildings and multi-coloured lanterns of her former home, Calamba City, in the Philippines, she said.

“It was called the Jeepney,” she said of the brightly painted bus that picked up customers and drove them to the restaurant.

Hamburger steak and peach-mango pie may be bestsellers, but for many transplanted Filipinos at Jollibee, the restaurant also serves a side dish of memories.

And now there is another Jollibee in the city they can visit to make new ones.

The second Jollibee location in Canada opened Tuesday at the Northgate Shopping Centre on McPhillips Avenue. The first person lined up at 10 p.m. Monday night, and was joined by about 75 other people before its 7 a.m. opening.

The restaurant handed out jolly dolls to the first 100 customers. The Jollibee mascot — a red bumble bee with yellow stripes — was on hand, and the Jollibee jingle was piped inside and outside the restaurant.

Lacson had a burger steak that comes with a choice of rice, corn or mashed potato, with gravy and mushrooms. The taste is exactly the same as in the Philippines, she said.

“It’s home,” Nestor Cruz said of the new Jollibee restaurant where he dined on its first day. Cruz emigrated from the Philippines six years ago.

“My co-workers like it, too, and they’re not Filipino. They love the crispy chicken and peach mango pie,” he said.

Jollibee Foods Corp. is the ninth largest restaurant company in the world. It is often called the McDonald’s of the Philippines, with about 1,000 outlets around the world. The first store opened in Winnipeg a year ago.

Its Chickenjoy fried chicken is the biggest seller, restaurant officials say, but the peach mango pie is right up there. Some other popular dishes include a cheesy, Filipino-style Jolly Spaghetti, and the Aloha Champ Burger — a bacon cheeseburger garnished with a pineapple ring.

“We didn’t expect this. We’re very happy about the support,” said brand manager, Dianne Yorro, about opening day.

The first Jollibee in Winnipeg at 1405 Ellice Ave. has been very successful, but the second, and larger of the two with seating for 105 people, is closer to more Filipino communities, Yorro said, noting it will employ 90 people.

While the Jollibee jingle played in the background all day Tuesday — “I’m your friend, I’m Jollibee, your jolly friendly Jollibee” — Yorro promised other music would be played after the grand opening to preserve the sanity of staff and customers.

Jollibee strives to reflect the signature nature of Filipino hospitality, Yorro said.

“Filipinos are known to be very warm and kind people, and we try to make it the same kind of atmosphere.”

 

bill.redekop@freepress.mb.ca