---
title: "Jollibee Expands U.S. Franchise Growth With Experienced Multi-Unit Operators"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/1175f6d8-6555-476e-a7f9-f85b2a771238
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/jollibee/jollibee-us-franchise-expansion-multi-unit-operators-2732826
category: "Fast casual"
industry: "Restaurants"
segment: "Fast casual"
topics: ["Development & multi-unit"]
published: 2026-08-14T22:17:41.000Z
modified: 2026-10-31T14:57:09.404Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/1786727986_feature.png
---

# Jollibee Expands U.S. Franchise Growth With Experienced Multi-Unit Operators

**TL;DR:** Jollibee has signed a 20-unit development deal with multi-unit operators Sunny Datta and Paul Avila as part of its US franchising strategy. The deal marks a major step in Jollibee's expansion beyond its company-owned restaurant base.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2026-08-14. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/jollibee/jollibee-us-franchise-expansion-multi-unit-operators-2732826).*

## Story

Jollibee was recently featured in Franchise Times following the announcement of one of its largest North American franchise agreements to date, a 20-unit development deal with experienced multi-unit operators Sunny Datta and Paul Avila. The agreement marks another major step in Jollibee's U.S.

franchising strategy as the Filipino quick-service brand continues expanding beyond its company-owned restaurant base. Datta and Avila will develop restaurants across California, Nevada and Texas, bringing decades of restaurant operations experience and an established infrastructure built through their work with Inspire Brands.

The article highlights why Jollibee is attracting sophisticated multi-unit franchise operators. “Jollibee is a solid company,” Avila said. “It isn’t just a regional brand. They have a presence across the world and they’ve been in business for decades. They’ve established themselves and have their process and procedures in place, specifically for the U.S. They’ve had a presence here for over 25 years. They know what works and are up to par with what the industry standards are, and have an expectation to exceed what the competitors are doing.”

The story also reinforces Jollibee's broader franchise growth strategy. Peter Wright, vice president of franchise development, explained that the company is intentionally recruiting experienced operators capable of developing 10 or more restaurants, focusing on partners who already have the real estate expertise, operational infrastructure, and leadership needed to scale quickly. As Jollibee works toward its goal of reaching 500 restaurants across the U.

S. and Canada by 2030, leadership plans to continue balancing corporate development with franchising, targeting a future system composed of approximately 70% franchised restaurants and 30% company-owned locations.

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- unit expansion (topic)
- QSR (sector)
- franchise growth (topic)
- texas (location)
- California (location)
- Inspire Brands (company)
- Nevada (location)
- multi-unit operators (topic)
- Jollibee (company)
- Peter Wright (person)
- Paul Avila (person)

---
Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/jollibee/jollibee-us-franchise-expansion-multi-unit-operators-2732826). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/1175f6d8-6555-476e-a7f9-f85b2a771238).