The big day has arrived. After 22 months of waiting, the new Jollibee restaurant in Chantilly officially opened for business today.
A queue of eager diners waited in the rain this morning for the doors to open. Around 11 a.m. when The Burn stopped by, the restaurant was crowded, but there was only a short line.
A kindly staff member greeted us with a cheery “jolly morning” as we walked up to the counter and we had our 2-piece “Chickenjoy” meal in under five minutes.
It included a side of mashed potatoes and gravy, a biscuit, and a separate cup of gravy for dipping your chicken in.
Outside, a line of cars stretched through the parking lot as many customers tried to avoid the inclement weather.
The restaurant — which was first announced in February 2022 — took over a vacant Burger King building on Chantilly Shopping Center Drive just off State Road 28 at Willard Road.
The building was retrofitted into the Jollibee — a Filipino fried chicken chain with more than 1,500 locations worldwide.
In the U.S., the brand is big on the west coast and making more and more inroads elsewhere — including three locations so far in the greater Washington DC area.
Besides the Chickenjoy chicken, Jollibee is also known for its Yumburgers, its Jolly Spaghetti and its signature Pineapple Quencher beverage.
As diners leave through the restaurant’s exit door, they pass the Jollibee mascot — an anthropomorphic red bee wearing a bow tie and chef’s hat.