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After nearly two years in the making, Jollibee is finally doing the dance of joy in Philadelphia, as the Philippines’ fastest-growing restaurant chain opened its doors in America’s Birthplace of Democracy.

The stand-alone building in North Philly comes with a drive-thru and lots of parking. It is Jollibee’s first restaurant in the state of Pennsylvania and the 85th store in North America.

Customer number one Marcus McClam is getting a bucket of Chickenjoy for a whole year, a Funko Pop Jollibee, and limited-edition Jollibee sweatpants.

Other Philadelphians also wasted no time trying the Filipino-owned American-inspired fast food with a Filipino twist.

"I had it in New York a few years ago... I loved it," Michael Wink shared. "Now I can get Jollibee whenever I want to. I don’t have to take the train to New York."

This branch not only touts diverse customers but also diverse staffers.

"This is definitely a great sign that the economy is coming back, post-pandemic," Brad Baldia of the Federation of Philippine American Chambers of Commerce said. "To be able to see a huge turnout... there'll be a line for like several hours or whatever the whole day and I think it really is just a real relief for us."

According to Business Journal, this Jollibee is part of a $50 million redevelopment project at what was the site of a former Sears department store in the Great Northeast Plaza.

Bloomberg meanwhile reported that Jollibee Foods' profit jumped nearly 200% in the second quarter of 2022 as more dine-in customers returned after Covid-19 restrictions relaxed.

Jollibee reported a net income of Php2.8 billion or $50.5 million from April to June 2022, tripling its Php975 million profit in 2021.

Jollibee executives stressed that their mission is to go beyond borders.

"We want to be one of the top five restaurant companies in the world... Every day, we just live by our mission of serving great food and spreading the joy of eating to everyone," Luis Velasco, Senior Vice President of Marketing of Jollibee noted.

With its newfound fame as the Best Fried Chicken in America according to eater.com, the Filipino fast-food giant is rapidly expanding in the US.

Jollibee’s goal of 500 stores across North America in the next five to seven years may not be far-fetched at all, with a target of opening 415 more stores by 2029.