Jollibee in NY: Fast Food for the Filipino soul.

Jollibee is fast food for the Filipino soul only in the sense that MacDonald's is fast food for the US soul. Both are popular and representative of fast food chains in their respective countries. Jollibee might be called MacDonald's with Filipino characteristics! Jollibee already exists in California I gather. As I recall when Jollibee first arrived on the West Coast it tried to mimic US menus too closely and were successful only when they switched to more of the items that one would find in their Philippine outlets.


February 15, 2009
Woodside
Fast Food for the Filipino Soul
By MARK FOGGIN
IT’S the rare neighborhood of mom-and-pop shops that actually welcomes a fast-food joint. But for months, the Filipino-American community centered in Woodside, Queens, has been eagerly awaiting the opening of a Filipino food-chain restaurant called Jollibee, and describing its dishes in breathless, almost reverent tones.
“This is the taste of my childhood,” said Emma Ilagan, a 36-year-old customer service representative for Verizon Wireless who left the Philippines when she was 21.
“Until now, you have to go to California for Chickenjoy,” she added, referring to the chain’s popular dish of fried chicken, gravy and rice.
Or as Natasha Starkey, a conservatory student, said last month when she dropped off an application for a part-time job, “This is Filipino soul food.”
Jollibee, the dominant fast-food chain in the Philippines, where it has more than 600 outlets, is opening the restaurant, its first on the East Coast, this weekend. Its fare is a mix of fast-food staples like burgers and Chickenjoy, along with more regional dishes like smoked bangus, or milkfish — a national symbol of the Philippines — served with vinegar and pepper.
While Filipino-Americans on the West Coast can enjoy these dishes at two dozen Jollibee locations, those in New York have been able to only reminisce about such items. But in late December, an image of the chain’s cheery mascot, a smiling bumblebee sporting a toque, was mounted over the doorway of a former Mexican restaurant at 63rd Street and Roosevelt Avenue, in the shadow of the No. 7 elevated.
The chain’s impending arrival has had Woodside excited for months.
On Friday, some workers were labeling the menu boards with calorie counts while others were breading dozens of pieces of chicken in the sleek, new kitchen.
“We’re expecting a line outside at 7 a.m.,” said Iyoh Villamayor, Jollibee’s vice president for operations. “I notified the local police precinct.”
Even local business owners, who might be expected to view Jollibee’s arrival with trepidation, especially as the economy sags, said they were excited.
“I think it’s a positive thing for Filipinos,” said Jacqueline Bacani, who manages a family-style Filipino restaurant called Ihawan a few blocks away. “It demonstrates an expansion of the Filipino community.”
Emmanuel Castillo, who owns the Phil-Am grocery just across the street and serves Filipino shoppers who come to the neighborhood from throughout the region, was even more direct. “It will be good for business here,” Mr. Castillo said firmly.