The Philippines' largest quick-service restaurant company is coming to Hawaii and will open Jollibee and Red Ribbon BakeShop in Waipahu Shopping Plaza as early as this summer.

It is the same shopping center where P.I.-based Max's of Manila first opened in March of 2006.

There have been rumblings among some restaurateurs about Jollibee's market entrance for around a year—but the company declined to confirm your columnist's inquiry a year ago.

Now “;our project is ongoing, our plans are with the city at this time, so we're just waiting for confirmation,”; said Tom King, president of Honeybee Foods Corp. It does business as Jollibee and Red Ribbon BakeShop in the U.S., whereas Philippine parent Jollibee Foods Corp. has additional brands including Chowking, Delifrance, Greenwich Pizza and Manong Pepe's.

The two concepts will occupy about 6,000 long-vacant square feet in the shopping plaza.

“;We'll see if the (permitting) situation will allow us to open the two simultaneously,”; King said.

“;Hopefully we're looking at a June or July opening, if it's workable.”;

Restaurant opening dates are notoriously moving targets.

The company will hire 80 to 100 employees, and while crew hires are months away, “;for the managerial level, we're about to start sourcing,”; King said.

Jollibee is a fast-feeder famous for burgers, fried chicken, spaghetti and other dishes as well as breakfasts and desserts, including halo-halo.

Red Ribbon BakeShop is renowned for mango cake and stunningly purple ube cake, made with purple yams, as well as other baked goods, including three varieties of pan de sal. However, it also serves savory items such as beef or chicken empanadas, arroz caldo (a chicken and rice congee dish) and Filipino favorite dinuguan. Jollibee has 26 mainland stores, and there are 40 Red Ribbon BakeShops, concentrated in Southern California.

Meanwhile, back at Waipahu Shopping Plaza, Max's of Manila Hawaii General Manager Maly San Luis was aware of the long-running buzz about the two incoming concepts.

Max's is a full-service restaurant popular for special occasions and private parties, while the other eateries fulfill a different sort of dining desire.

“;I think it'll be good,”; San Luis said. The two new Filipino-food-serving neighbors likely will “;bring in more foot traffic and can help everybody.”;

“;Even on the mainland, a couple of them are near Max's, and they kind of complement each other.”;

Construction of Max's new, second location in Iwilei near Costco “;is delayed, so we're now targeting the end of January or the end of February, maybe the first week of March,”; San Luis said. The company has received numerous applications and will begin job interviews shortly, she said.

The Waipahu Max's is 6,300 square feet, while the Iwilei store, at 5,400 square feet, will have about the same seating capacity. “;We reconfigured things a bit,”; San Luis said.

On the Net:
» www.jollibeeusa.com
» www.redribbonbakeshop.us
» www.maxschicken.com