SINGAPORE: The very first Jollibee branch in Singapore has closed its doors after 10 years. Jollibee Singapore announced over Facebook on Nov 30 that it would be moving out of its outlet at Level 6 of Lucky Plaza, where the Chicken Joy magic began.
But don’t worry; fans of the Filipino fast food chain may still troop down to the outlet at Basement 1 of Lucky Plaza or any other Jollibee branches across Singapore.
Nevertheless, perhaps because the Lucky Plaza L6 was the first among all the branches, netizens greeted the news of the closure with a mixture of sadness and nostalgia. Also, with around 200,000 Filipinos living and working in Singapore, the outpouring of love for the Bee should not be surprising.
Many reminisced about standing in line for two to three hours when the branch opened, while others remembered having celebrated a birthday or other special occasions there.
One netizen wrote, “Also remember telling all my friends that the Chicken Joy was far superior than the KFC in Singapore…and they agreed after tasting it.”
Others said they used to eat at the branch, while some said they still hang out on Sundays to meet and talk with friends. One added, “Just don’t move out of Singapore…. Thanks!” — this netizen needn’t worry, as Jollibee appears to be going strong in Singapore. The fast food company opened its first drive-through in mid-September, its 20th outlet at Caltex Jurong Spring.
Mr Dennis M Flores, the president of Jollibee Europe, Middle East, Asia, and Australia (EMEAA), noted at the drive-through’s opening that Jollibee’s consumer base had grown “from serving primarily Filipinos, to now serving the mainstream Singaporean market who compose a predominant majority of our customers today.”
“We are grateful for the Singaporean community’s continued support, and we look forward to expanding further in the country and the greater EMEAA region,” he added.
The company also recently opened its tenth store in Malaysia. As of September of this year, there were over 1,500 Jollibee outlets across the globe, from Southeast Asia to the Middle East, Hong Kong and Macau, North America, and in Spain, Italy, and the UK in Europe.
The fast food chain traces its beginnings to an ice cream parlour that opened in Manila in 1975, which later added hot meals and sandwiches to its menu. When the latter grew more in demand than the ice cream selection, the company, owned by Filipino-Chinese businessman Mr Tony Tan Caktiong, pivoted and eventually changed its name to Jollibee in 1978. The rest, as they say, is history.
Read also: Jollibee — a timeline of success, from local Filipino eatery to acquiring the world /TISG