Jollibee is still small compared with America’s biggest fast-food chains, but it is no longer acting like a niche import. The Filipino fried chicken favorite is trying to turn its cult following into a much bigger U.S. restaurant growth story.
The chain currently has 81 restaurants in the United States and 28 in Canada, giving it 109 stores across North America after the recent opening of a new Manhattan location, according to Jollibee Group. That is still tiny compared with giants like Chick-fil-A, Popeyes, KFC, and Raising Cane’s, but Jollibee’s ambitions are much larger than its current footprint.
The company’s near-term goal is to reach 150 U.S. restaurants, on the way to a broader target of 500 locations across the U.S. and Canada combined by 2030. Nation’s Restaurant News reported earlier this year that Jollibee has been building toward that target after launching its U.S. franchising program and opening its first U.S. franchised location in Queens, New York in August 2025.
That would be a massive jump.
To get there, Jollibee is focusing on markets where it already has a strong base, plus large metro areas where fried chicken, global fast food, and Filipino food all have room to grow. The biggest targets include California, Texas, New York, Florida, and the broader West Coast and tristate regions.
California may be the clearest example.
Jollibee is planning a major Northern California expansion, with 15 new locations expected over the next eight years through a franchise partnership. The chain already has a strong Bay Area presence, with stores in cities such as Alameda, Daly City, Hayward, San Jose, South San Francisco, and Vallejo, plus locations in the Sacramento area.
Texas could be even bigger.
Jollibee is eyeing at least 15 new San Antonio-area locations over the next five to six years, according to recent local reporting. The chain currently has one San Antonio restaurant and several more in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, but company officials have described Texas as a major development opportunity.
New York is also central to the strategy.
Jollibee’s latest Manhattan restaurant opened at 14 East 42nd Street, between Fifth and Madison avenues, near one of the busiest transit and office districts in the country. The company said the opening drew lines before doors opened and that the customer mix showed Jollibee is reaching beyond only Filipino and Filipino American diners.
That last point matters.
Jollibee’s challenge is not just opening restaurants. It has to turn curiosity into repeat visits. Chickenjoy, sweet-style spaghetti, peach mango pies, adobo rice, and gravy-dipped fried chicken give the chain a menu that feels familiar enough for American fast food fans but different enough to stand out.
The fried chicken market is already crowded. Chick-fil-A dominates many suburbs. Popeyes owns a huge chicken sandwich audience. KFC has history. Raising Cane’s has momentum. Dave’s Hot Chicken is expanding quickly.
But Jollibee has something those chains do not: a global fan base, Filipino food identity, and the kind of opening-day excitement that still gets people in line.
If Jollibee reaches 150 U.S. restaurants — and then 500 across North America by 2030 — it would go from cult favorite to national fast-food player.
For now, the chain is still early in that journey. But California, Texas, and New York show where Jollibee thinks its next wave of American growth can happen.
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