There is a new fried chicken chain making moves into Northern Virginia. As Loudoun County’s leading source for fried chicken news, we wanted to keep you abreast of the latest information. The restaurant is called Jollibee, and while there are no reported plans for a Loudoun location yet, the brand announced its first NoVa location this week.
Jollibee is a fried chicken chain that got its start in the Philippines way back in 1975. It grew across Asia and entered the United States in 1998. There are now 1,200 locations worldwide, and roughly 45 locations open around the U.S. — many of them in California. There’s been a Virginia Beach location for several years now, which we’re told has a large Filipino population, and last year the company announced it was moving into the D.C. market with a restaurant in Wheaton, Maryland near Bethesda. Now, this week the Washington Business Journal reported that Jollibee has its first NoVa location in the works for Alexandria.
The Jollibee menu is focused on the fried chicken — they called it “Chickenjoy.” They also have burgers, a unique Filipino spaghetti dish, and other items that would likely be new to the region’s fast food scene. You can see the full menu here.
The Burn reached out to several local commercial real estate brokers who said there is no indication that Jollibee is pursuing a Loudoun location at this time. But if the brand plans to expand aggressively in Northern Virginia, Loudoun could certainly be part of that.
It’s been an exciting time for fried chicken enthusiasts in recent years with the arrival of Royal Farms a few years back; the Korean friend chicken brands such as Bonchon and Choong Man; Frito Chicken in Ashburn; and, of course, the impending opening of Northern Virginia’s new Bojangles location this year in Sterling, the first in many years. (Winchester has Bojangles, but we don’t include that as part of NoVa.) That’s not even counting the brands that specialize in fried chicken tenders, such as the first NoVa Zaxby’s location near South Riding and the word that Raising Cane’s is exploring a Loudoun location.
Virginia Beach and the larger Hampton Roads area has a very large Filipino diaspora thanks to the military, hence why it was an early US location for Jollibee.
I have made the trek to it from Ashburn, but Alexandria is much closer. 😊
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It’s not random that there is a Jollibee location in Virginia Beach. There is a huge Filipino presence there (largest concentration of Filipinos in Virginia). A huge factor is the naval base, which attracted both Filipino service members and nurses.
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There used to a Bojangles in Fairfax City back in the early 1990’s. They closed down because of Health Code Violations.
Someone didn’t do their Homework before posting that about the Bojangles in Sterling, VA.
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Virginia Beach isn’t a random location. It’s had a large Filipino population for decades.
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A Virginia Beach location is not ‘random’. There is a large Filipino community there.
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There’s nothing random. Jollibee is a huge competitor for McDonald’s in the PI and they choose locations with large concentrations of Filipinos.
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the location in virginia beach isn’t really random, considering that it’s a city with a large filipino community.
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I doubt the Virginia Beach location is random. Next door (figuratively) is Norfolk Naval Station, the world’s largest naval base, and Joint Base Langley-Eustis The U.S. Navy operated a massive base in Subic Bay, Philippines, for decades – at around 260 square miles, the base was roughly the size of Singapore. The U.S. Air Force operated a massive base at Clark, about another 250 square miles. (Those totals include land that weren’t actively used at all times, but were part of the lease agreements with the Philippine government.) Many thousands of U.S. Navy sailors and Air Force airmen married Filipina women over the years. So many vets retired and moved back there that the VA maintains an outpatient clinic at the U.S. embassy in Manila – it is the only VA healthcare facility located in another country.
The commissary at the naval base in San Diego used to have a huge section of Filipino food items, and you couldn’t go to a ship or squadron pot luck event without at least one person bringing a big plate lumpia. (Filipino spring rolls)
While both Subic Bay and Clark closed in the early 1990s due to disputes over leasing payments, China’s overt actions to exert power over that area of the world have seen thousands of service members rotate back through the Philippines for joint exercises since at least 2015.
I don’t know the owners/operators of the VA Beach location, but I doubt it’s random coincidence they picked that location.
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The Virginia Beach location of Jollibee is not random at all, I believe we have the largest concentration of Filipino people in the USA outside of San Diego. In any case there are definitely enough to make it worth opening a Jollibee, for which I am eternally grateful! Enjoy the chickenjoy NoVa! Zaxby’s and Raising Caine’s are interchangeable garbage btw fyi
do you ever report on new openings or closings of food trucks. This type of “restaurant” is probably an active alternative during the ongoing pandemic
We do sometimes. We try to focus on ones that are based in Loudoun. If you know of any new ones, please send the information to . Thank you.
I love the comment about Winchester, “Winchester has Bojangles, but we don’t include that as part of NoVa.” A nice subtle dig that people in Winchester will take offense to.
We don’t believe anyone would count Winchester as a suburb of DC. When we are referring to Northern Virginia (capitalized), we are referring to the MSA around DC and the counties in Virginia that make up suburban DC.
What’s wrong with Winchester?
Besides, plenty of people actually do commute from Winchester to DC and the immediate vicinity.
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