NEW YORK– James Bernais stands in front of the counter looking at the different menu items on the big menu board that graces the newly opened Jollibee restaurant in Woodside, Queens. He mumbles a few words in his attempt to remember the items he would be ordering once his turn comes: “Chickenjoy (Jollibee’s famous fried chicken that is arguably the best seller in all their stores worldwide) ,” he said. “ I must have Chickenjoy.”

Upon uttering those words, he looks back at the long line formed outside the fast food chain, shakes his head, smiles, and summons a sigh of relief– a sigh that can only mean one thing: He finally made it to the promised land.

James, like all the customers who have been into this first-ever Jollibee restaurant in the East Coast since it opened last February 14, have braved the cold and waited in line for at least five hours just to be served. Five hours. Almost equivalent to time spent at work.

For a Filipino fast food chain to get that kind of adoration in the US, it must have made such deep impact with its customers resulting in a sense of profound loyalty to the product– a loyalty similar to that of Apple fans whenever the electronics giant unveils a new cool product. It is a kind of loyalty that is almost cultic often times irrational, but all together great.

“I know people would come but I did not expect them to line up for five hours under the chilly weather,” says Maria Lourdes Villamayor, East Coast General Manager of Honeybee Foods Corporation. “And that’s overwhelming and heartwarming at the same time.”

But what is special about the food that it deserves long lines and camp outs

“A taste of Jollibee is literally a taste of home,” Villamayor continues. That’s how they miss the brand.”

Jollibee became famous in the Philippines in the early 1980s with their Yumburgers– Filipino style burgers. These burgers are uniquely Filipino in a way that it is not made of just 100% ground beef like how Americans make it.

Instead, it is a composite of different ingredients very much like how Filipinos make homemade burgers– with eggs that serve as extenders, and perhaps some chopped onions, a little bit of flour, or garlic for taste.

Why add extenders? Filipinos are not the richest people on earth and putting pure beef in between two buns is a luxury that they cannot afford, hence the “patch.”

This improvised take on the all-American hamburger alone makes every Jollibee Yumburger as Filipino as Adobo.

Then came the bird– Chickenjoy.

Chickenjoy pretty much changed the landscape of Philippine fast food. When it debuted, the Filipinos are used to only two kinds of fried chicken: The American variety best marketed by the multi-million corporation KFC, and the Filipino homestyle fried chicken known as Max’s. The differences between the two are extreme. KFC is typical American southern fried chicken breaded and tender, while Max’s is whole chicken submerged in hot oil just like how every Pinoy mom or lola fries chicken.

But Chickenjoy changed it all.

Jollibee Chickenjoy is a marketing miracle. A mind-bending invention that made the Filipino fast food chain a billion-peso business and a global brand.

How did it happen, and what is different with this Chickenjoy? How did it erase KFC and Max’s from every Pinoy’s hungry mind?

Chickenjoy killed two brands with one bite. It is an American style breaded fried chicken just like KFC but has something that Colonel Sander’s recipe doesn’t: Crackle.

Chickenjoy is crispy and crispy is how Filipinos want their fried bird. With that simple thing, KFC was TKOed.

Max’s followed shortly. Max’s is high-end stuff for the average Filipino. One cannot get a Max’s three-piece combo of just the leg, thigh and wing. One has to order the whole bird. Again, it is another luxury that most Filipinos cannot have.

In fact, most Filipinos only get a chance to eat at Max’s when there is a wedding or a party held in the restaurant. Max’s is simply too expensive for the cash-strapped Filipinos.

Chickenjoy, on the other hand, is cheap. It can be ordered as a one-piece with a side of rice or spaghetti or a combination of two or three parts, or even a large bucket. But the one-piece meal was what made the Chickenjoy the undisputed Filipino fried chicken. It is both crispy and cheap. And that really made Jollibee what it is now.

But that alone does not explain why James braved the cold and waited five hours in line just to get his Chickenjoy. There are two other factors why Jollibee is such a hit here in the US: Sentimentality and identity.

Ms. Villanueva is right. A taste of Jollibee is a taste of home. With every crackle of the crispy skin of the Chickenjoy, Filipinos who grew up in the Philippines are transported back to a time when everything was peaceful and secure. Perhaps they remember all the Jollibee birthday parties they had when they were little and perhaps the little rewards they got from their parents with every A+ grade they received at school. For every Filipino born and raised in the 7,000 plus islands, it is the very definition of comfort food. This is sentimentality. This is what makes Filipinos working and living abroad crave for the Jollibee spaghetti, Yumburger, or Chickenjoy every time they think of home.

But what about the Filipinos born here in the US? How come they also stood in line with the Philippine-born Jollibee fans? They have no memories of Jollibee growing up, yet how come they are there?

The answer: Identity.

If Jollibee is part of being a Filipino, Filipino-Americans, who are in search of their own identity, will surely be drawn to it as well. It may not give them the same comfort as it gives their parents, but it will make them understand where their parents are coming from– and thus completes them in a way.

Recently, Filipino-Americans have stepped up their resolve in re-connecting with the homeland. These kids have began to express the Filipino side of their being whether it be in the form of adulation for Manny Pacquiao or admiration for Charice Pempengco, Arnel Pineda, or by being aware of the political issues affecting the Philippines.

According to Ms. Villamayor, the ratio of Philippine-born customers and Filipino Americans during the first days of Jollibee Woodside is equal. Both groups are equally excited to be there and eat the food from the homeland no matter how long the wait and how cruel the weather.

Missing home and knowing thyself is indeed a lucrative combination that is set to overturn any bleak economic forecast.

Jollibee’s entrance into the Filipino community in the East Coast is nothing short of phenomenal and profitable.

Consider this: According to Ms. Villamayor, on Jollibee’s opening day, the lines snaked around two avenue blocks from Roosevelt Avenue to 38th from opening to closing. The store opened at 6:00 AM and remained open until 4:00 AM the next day–almost 24 hours. They served their last customer, a Filipino-American at 3:30 AM. It was pretty much the same everyday since the opening.

As of press time, reports came in that due to the very long lines, the management of Jollibee is issuing tickets to people that are lined up outside. According to this report, only ticketed customers will be served. This prevents people who sneak in to the store without falling in line from ordering food. Likewise, the local NYPD was reportedly deployed to monitor the situation in and around the store.

Also, Ms. Villamayor reported that due to the high volume of orders, one of their two deep fryers have malfunctioned. It simply could not fry any more.

Nevertheless, business continues as usual. Despite long lines and the occasional chaos, all of those who came in and ate at Jollibee left with smiles in their hearts and faces.

When asked what advice he would give to the people waiting outside, James said: “I will tell them to be patient. If I made it here, they will make it here. Just wait and they will be rewarded. It is totally worth it.”

-Published on The Filipino Express Issue #8