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LONG BEACH, Calif. -- A gutsy Filipino restaurant chain is jumping into the U.S. fast-food frying pan, going burger-to-burger against Big Mac, Whopper and Jumbo Jack with a slightly sweeter alternative called the Super J.
The Manila-based Jollibee chain opened its newest store here yesterday, literally in the sauce-smeared faces of such American fast-food giants as McDonald's, Carl's Jr., Taco Bell and Burger King. All are within a burger-flip of the new Jollibee.
After an initial dip into the saturated U.S. market in the San Francisco suburb of Daly City two years ago, Jollibee has opened four more stores in California since March.
"All the (U.S.) stores have exceeded our expectations," said Arnie Balague, business development director for Jollibee.
The chain plans to open additional outlets in Hawaii and New Jersey in the next year or so, Balague said.
Jollibee hopes to tap the large population of ethnic Filipinos in Hawaii, a company spokesman said yesterday.
Local investors already are asking about owning the franchise, but the spokesman said that the chain still has no specific plans for the move.
Jollibee -- for jolly bee, as in happy, busy workers -- could be called the McDonald's of the Philippines, where it has cornered more than half of the country's fast-food market.
The company is focusing on communities with large Filipino-American populations, said Balague. "We're trying to capitalize on the brand awareness among Filipinos."
But that strategy is seen only as a jump start. Company officials hope the chain eventually takes hold with the American fast-food mainstream.
In fact at one San Francisco Bay Area store, Balague said the customers are now evenly split between Filipinos and non-Filipinos.
Jollibee has the usual fare that most fast-food restaurants have -- hamburgers, french fries, fried chicken and children's meals. What sets Jollibee apart is a secret mix of spices that it blends into its ground beef to make the burgers sweeter than its competitors'.
In addition to the Super J and its cousin, the Amazing Aloha pineapple burger, Jollibee offers such exotic treats as banana langka and peach mango pies for dessert.
The U.S. fast-food market is already crowded, but "there's always room for niche players," said Patrick Schumann, a research analyst at Edward Jones in St. Louis.
Jollibee's domestic debut in Daly City had sales of $1.4 million last year, Balague said, which met their expectations for the location.
The chain recently opened restaurants in two more Bay Area cities -- Union City in March and Vallejo in May -- and last month launched a store in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson.
The Long Beach opening yesterday will be followed by locations in nearby Cerritos and in National City, near San Diego, later this year.
