Asia's largest fast-food company – the hugely popular Jollibee – is set to open its first Australian store, in Sydney. This Filipino fast-food/cheap eats giant has about 1,500 locations in 17 countries around the globe, and after a long campaign, they're in the works to open their first Australian eatery – likely in Sydney's Campbelltown.
Given the large Filipino population in Australia, and Campbelltown in particular (Filipinos comprise the third-largest population of residents born outside of Australia), this news has been a long time coming. A really long time coming, considering the restaurant’s initial development application was submitted to the Campbelltown City Council in March 2021, and its preliminary development drawings were submitted in October 2021.
Is Jollibee really coming to Sydney?
The initial Campbelltown site has reportedly fallen through due to “some administrative challenges”, which is why things seem to be taking a long time. But it's promising that Jollibee has a 'Business Head for Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia', Dennis Flores, on its team, and he's confirmed that the business had been planning to come to Australia “for quite some time now”.
When is Jollibee coming to Sydney?
It's said that pre-construction plans are now in progress, though The Philippines Times has recently reported that Jollibee's plans to expand into Australia may not come to light for two years, and an official opening date is still yet to be announced.
What is Jollibee?
For those who are curious, Jollibee is known for its ChickenJoy – hand-breaded, fried chicken. And we know there's a big appetite for fried chicken in Sydney – just ask Pappa Flock, the popular Western Sydney chicken-tenders chain that is about to land in the trendy Inner West suburb of Marrickville.
Jollibee has been working aggressively to take ChickenJoy abroad, as it aims to become one of the top-five restaurant companies in the world. As well as Asia, there are Jollibee stores in the US, Canada, Europe and the Middle East. It's currently the world’s 13th largest fast-food chain, and there are more Jollibee stores in the Philippines than there are McDonald's stores.
If you've spent time in the Philippines or Vietnam, you may recognise the giant red bee in a chef's hat (a 'jolly bee'). Stay tuned – or buzzed.
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