Jollibee, which opens at 7 a.m. Saturday at southwest Kernan and Atlantic boulevards, will staff the restaurant with 40-50 workers on any given day, said Maribeth Dela Cruz, vice president and general manager for JFC North America.
Daily operating hours will be 7 a.m.-10 p.m. Its menu includes Chickenjoy, Jolly Spaghetti and sandwiches.
The restaurant at 11884 Atlantic Blvd. will be Jollibee’s first in the state. A spokeswoman said there are no other Florida locations she could announce.
The Philippines-based chain renovated a former Kentucky Fried Chicken and A&W Restaurants building next to The Potter’s House Soul Food Bistro in Kernan Village.
Referred to by some in the media as the McDonald’s of the Philippines, Jollibee found its U.S. grand openings draw hundreds of people who line up hours in advance.
It opened its first U.S. restaurant in 1998 in Daly City, Calif., near San Francisco, to cater to the Filipino and Filipino-American families living in the area.
As of mid-February, it had 35 U.S. locations and 1,111 stores worldwide.
Amazon brings one-day shipping to Jacksonville
Amazon.com announced last week that Prime Members shipping to more than 3,500 cities and towns, including Jacksonville, now can access free one-day shipping.
Prime members shopping on Amazon can choose from more than 2 million items eligible for free one-day shipping on qualifying orders of $35 or more. Order cut-off times vary by city.
E-commerce retailer Amazon said tens of millions of Prime members already have unlimited free two-day shipping on more than 50 million items, available in every ZIP code across the contiguous U.S.
Prime Now members in more than 30 cities — not Jacksonville — can get free two-hour delivery on an order of at least $25. Florida cities are Miami, Orlando and Tampa.
Maybe Jacksonville will qualify soon. Seattle-based Amazon is developing two fulfillment centers and a delivery station in Jacksonville and is interested in a fourth location believed to be a sortation center, which assists the Prime service.
Fogo de Chao to start building this summer
Construction is planned to begin this summer on the Fogo de Chao Brazilian Steakhouse in The Strand at Town Center, said CEO Larry Johnson.
He did not announce an opening date.
Fogo de Chao will seat up to about 240 customers and offer additional seating on the patio. The restaurants typically employ 65-95 people, he said.
Johnson did not provide a specific investment cost but said Fogo targets a $4.5 million net investment for new restaurants.
Johnson said Dallas-based Fogo has been interested in expanding to Jacksonville for some time.
He cited the area’s growing medical institutions, golf courses, military facilities and residential and tourism markets.
“These are just a few of the many factors as to why we believe Jacksonville is a great fit for Fogo,” he said.
The Strand is under development at Gate and Town Center parkways. Fogo’s permit application shows a $2 million building at 4784 Town Center Parkway.
The 10,130-square-foot building comprises 8,995 square feet for the restaurant and 1,135 square feet of unenclosed space.
Fogo specializes in preparing meats using a Brazilian cooking technique of fire roasting and grilling, then carving the meats tableside.
Texas de Brazil making progress at Promenade
The city issued a concurrency reservation certificate for the Texas de Brazil Churrascaria Brazilian Steakhouse at Town Center Promenade, just north of The Strand.
That 7,000-square-foot restaurant is planned on 1.95 acres at 4634 Town Center Parkway. Site plans previously were filed.
Also based in Dallas, Texas de Brazil describes itself as a Brazilian-American churrascaria, which means “gauchos” will come by the table and offer to cut meats off of a sword-like skewer.
Food notes
• PDQ was approved to build a restaurant at 4816 Gate Parkway in The Crossing at Town Center. PDQ sells chicken tenders and sandwiches as well as salads. The 3,300-square-foot restaurant will seat up to 100 customers and offer a drive-thru. The joint venture that owns the area PDQ restaurants includes former University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow. The iConstructors LLC firm is the contractor for the $775,000 construction job, which comprises the building and a dumpster enclosure on 1.64 acres.
• Dairy Queen is moving through the process to open at 13966 Village Lake Circle in Bartram Park. Site plans were filed and the city issued a concurrency reservation certificate for the 3,287-square-foot restaurant and drive-thru on 1.66 acres. Taylor & White Inc. is the project engineer.
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