Why Queens, New York, is a Hotspot for International Franchises

"It's not like other boroughs [in New York], where, if you want to open up a Columbian restaurant, you're not going to have enough of a population to support it," says Jack Friedman, executive vice president of the Queens Chamber of Commerce. "You can open up a Columbian restaurant in a Columbian neighborhood and have people of other ethnicities and cultures come visit it, but you still have your base [clientele]."

For Philippines-based burger chain Jollibee, Queens was their first stop on the East Coast. "When we opened [our first Jollibee] here, we had lines running around blocks for days," says Maria Lourdes Villamayor, vice president of the East Coast region for Jollibee and the company's other chain, Red Ribbon Bakeshop. "It's like a second home to the Filipinos who reside here. Jollibee is a brand that's endeared to most of them -- they practically grew up with it."

When looking for new locations, Villamayor says the company seeks out areas already densely populated with Filipinos. "In an area where there are anchors like Filipino supermarkets and groceries, [adding our businesses makes it] a one-stop shop for them," says Villamayor.

Jollibee already has a strong presence in California with 21 stores and Las Vegas with two stores, but the company is also looking to expand in New Jersey, Chicago, Seattle, Virginia, Florida and Hawaii. Red Ribbon Bakeshop has 32 stores in California, two in Las Vegas, two in New Jersey, and one each in Arizona and New York.

Thus far, the stores are all company-owned, but Villamayor says the company's strategy is to eventually franchise (55% of Jollibee restaurants in the Philippines are franchised).

"We want to be ready when we start franchising," says Villamayor, "because we want our future franchisees to have a very successful model to follow here in the US."

And just as many non-Filipino customers discover Jollibee and Red Ribbon Bakeshop foods through their multicultural locations, so, too have potential franchisees. Villamayor says the company's portfolio of people and companies that have expressed interested in franchising is diverse. "We are getting a lot of interest, not just from Filipinos, but from mainstream businesses."

For immigrants who might seek to bring a native and familiar food concept to their new home, franchising does make sense, especially in a place like Queens. "Franchisees, in a lot of cases, are getting a turnkey operation, and the studies show the success rate is greater when they walk into a franchise because they're getting more support from the outside," says Friedman. "And some of those barriers with first-generation immigrants -- language barriers and cultural barriers -- the franchisor has gone through some of that already."