Filipino fast food cult favourite Jollibee is continuing its international expansion having launched in Canada this week—and hundreds of customers faced tight crowd control on the restaurant’s first day of trade.
Time checked: 5:41 am.
Woke up at 5 to get tickets from #1stJollibeeinCanada
And look…
7 PM slot already. pic.twitter.com/yQke0i98cD
— ? TiyangChill ? (@GlyzaPesquiza) December 17, 2016
The chain, which is rumoured to be opening its own Australian stores in 2017, has enforced a number of strict rules on its first days of trade to deal with the flood of enthusiastic punters. Transactions are limited to $50 per person, second orders absolutely forbidden, and a ticketing system has been put in place, with diners given a paper voucher that noted exactly when they were supposed to line up to order.
The ticketing system opens at 6:30am this morning, with diners lining up in weather around -3 degrees celsius to confirm their time to order.
Read more: Australia is getting a new fast food giant: Five things you need to know about Jollibee
There’s no leniency or sympathy: if a customer loses their ticket of fails to show up at the right time, they headed right to the very back of the queue.
There have been a number of expats from the Philippines campaigning for the chain to come to Canada, and the business has been harnessing stories of families in the area to promote its food to the public. This has included sharing the stories of customers and how they came to live in Canada or make ties with the Filipino community.
There are around 800 Jollibee stores in the Philippines and the business is well known for its fast food fusion that includes burgers and traditional Filipino dishes. After opening in Winnipeg this month, the business has been able to fuel Canadian’s enthusiasm for the brand through social media, with customers calling on the chain for a full expansion of the business once the lines die down at its flagship store.
