IHOP

IHOP (US: /ˈaɪ.hɒp/ EYE-hop; acronym for International House of Pancakes) is an American multinational pancake house restaurant chain that specializes in breakfast foods. It is owned by Dine Brands Global—a company formed after IHOP's purchase of Applebee's, with 99% of the restaurants run by independent franchisees.

For the parent company of the brand, see Dine Brands Global. For other uses, see IHOP (disambiguation).

IHOP Restaurants, LLC
IHOP
Subsidiary
IndustryRestaurants
FoundedJuly 7, 1958 (1958-07-07)[1]
Toluca Lake, Los Angeles, California
FoundersJerry Lapin, Al Lapin Jr. and Albert Kallis
HeadquartersGlendale, California, U.S.
Number of locations
1,841 (December 31, 2019)[2]
Areas served
Key people
Jay Johns, President[3]
ProductsBreakfast foods, Lunch, Dinner, Sandwiches
Revenue US$349.6 million (2006[4])
US$72.8 million (2006[4])
US$141.1 million (2006[4])
Number of employees
32,300 (2007[4])
ParentDine Brands Global
(1976–present)
Websitewww.ihop.com

While IHOP's focus is on breakfast foods, it also offers a menu of lunch and dinner items. The company has 1,841 locations in the Americas (United States, Canada, Mexico and Guatemala) and the Middle East (Dubai, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Qatar), including 161 that are owned by area licensees and 1,680 that are franchised.[2][3] While many of its locations are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, the chain's minimum operating hours are 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.[5]

History
IHOP's former logo, used from 1994 to 2003.
Logo used from 1994 to 2015

Jerry Lapin, Al Lapin, and Albert Kallis founded International House of Pancakes in 1958 with the help of Sherwood Rosenberg and William Kaye. The first restaurant opened in Toluca Lake, Los Angeles, California.[1]

The initial design for IHOP building was a steep-roofed A-frame building with a distinctive blue roof, the last such location to be built was completed in 1979. While most IHOP locations no longer use the A-frame buildings, several still exist around the U.S.[1]

In 1973, the chain's name was shortened to "IHOP" for marketing purposes,[6] using a cartoon kangaroo in its commercials at the time, and since then the full name and acronym have been officially interchangeable.

The breakfast food menu later expanded (especially in the 1980s) to include standard lunch and dinner items found in similar restaurant chains such as Sambo's and Denny's. In 1976, at the same time as reorganization International Industries became IHOP.[1] In December 2019, IHOP announced plans to launch a chain of fast casual breakfast restaurants called Flip'd.[7]

Acquisition of Applebee's

On July 16, 2007, IHOP Corporation announced a plan to acquire the bar-and-grill chain Applebee's in an all-cash transaction, valued at approximately US$2.1 billion.[8] In the arrangement, Applebee's stock holders will receive $25.50 a share.[8] IHOP stated it would franchise most of Applebee's 500 company-owned facilities. Applebee's had 1,943 restaurants worldwide at the time, including those operated by franchisees.[9]

Applebee's shareholders approved the acquisition with a 70% vote, which closed on November 29, 2007. A number of executives from Applebee's voted against the offer. The chain's largest individual shareholder, Applebee's director Burton "Skip" Sack, called the IHOP offer unfair to its shareholders and stated he planned to take IHOP to court to demand a higher price be paid to him. As part of the purchase, a brand remarketing scheme and revitalization of the Applebee's image was intended.[10] The buyout successfully closed on November 29, 2007,[11] and the corporate entity IHOP changed its name to DineEquity on June 2, 2008.[12] A franchisee opened a hybrid Applebee's/IHOP restaurant in downtown Detroit in mid-2018.[13][14]

IHOP Cheesecake Pancakes

While IHOP's focus is on breakfast, serving pancakes, waffles, French toast, and omelettes, it also offers a menu of lunch and dinner items such as sandwiches, burgers, and salads.[15]

Locations

The company has 1,841 locations in the Americas and the Middle East.[2][3]

Franchising agreements with M.H. Alshaya, an international restaurant-franchising firm, resulted in an agreement for Alshaya to open as many as forty IHOP locations in the Middle East, beginning in 2012. By the end of 2018, IHOP restaurants operated in six Middle Eastern countries: Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Lebanon.[16] In 2019, IHOP began its foray into South America, opening three locations in Ecuador.[17]

IHOP Express' first location opened in 2011, they are a quick service version of the chain offered at locations such as airports,[18] school campuses,[19] military food courts[20] and travel centers.[21] The first standalone public location of the concept opened in downtown San Diego in 2011.[19]

In 2019, IHOP announced plans to open a fast-casual restaurant, Flip'd by IHOP. Flip'd will include a menu serving pancake bowls, burgers, and fried chicken.[22]

Marketing

In June 2015, IHOP introduced an updated logo, removing its decorative elements and adding a curved line under the "O" and "P" letters to resemble a smiley face. The company argued that the previous logo looked too much like a frown.[23][24]

In June 2018, an IHOP marketing campaign announced they would "flip" their name to "IHOb"; it was ultimately revealed to be a marketing campaign for its hamburgers, in an effort to address perceptions that IHOP was still primarily oriented towards breakfast food. The tease of the campaign led to speculation via social media regarding the intent of the change.[25] IHOP parodied the campaign the following year to promote a new hamburger that includes a pancake as an ingredient, jokingly stating that they would refer to their burgers as "pancakes" because people wanted IHOP to "stick to pancakes".[26][27]

Lawsuit

In early September 2010, IHOP filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles against International House of Prayer and six other defendants alleging trademark dilution and infringement.[28][29] The lawsuit was dropped on December 21, 2010, with the dispute resolved out of court.[30]

  • An IHOP in Portland, Oregon in 1983, with the older look and "International House of Pancakes" signage
  • A former IHOP in Florida with newer "International House of Pancakes" signage, This location closed in 2014
  • Restaurant in Orlando, Florida
  • An IHOP in Poughkeepsie, New York
  • A since-closed IHOP Express at a Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores location in Circleville, Ohio in 2019.
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See also

References
  1. Goldstein, Alan (August 5, 1986). "The IHOP : Chain Goes Flat Out to Prove That It Serves More Than Just Pancakes". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  2. "Dine Brands Global, Inc". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. February 24, 2020. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  3. Dawson, Gloria (June 3, 2019). "IHOP announces new brand president". Nation's Restaurant News. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
  4. Joe Bramhall. "IHOP Corp". Hoovers. Retrieved November 20, 2007.
  5. "Viva La Difference!". www.aljacobskitchen.com. June 8, 2019. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  6. Pirani, Fiza (June 11, 2019). "Where did IHOP get its original name? Restaurant announces name change". AJC. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
  7. Wiener-Bronner, Danielle (December 11, 2019). "IHOP is opening a fast casual restaurant called 'Flip'd'". CNN. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  8. "IHOP to acquire Applebee's for $1.9 billion". NBC News. July 16, 2007. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
  9. Vries, Lloyd (July 16, 2007). "IHOP To Buy Applebee's For $1.9B". CBS News. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  10. Adamy, Janet (October 31, 2007). "IHOP's Tall Order: Reviving Applebee's". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  11. "IHOP completes purchase of Applebee's". Kansas City Business Journal. November 29, 2007. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  12. "IHOP, Applebee's parent to be renamed DineEquity". Nations Restaurant News. March 28, 2008. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  13. Reindl, JC (September 19, 2017). "Advance peek at world's first combo IHOP/Applebee's coming to Detroit". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  14. Reindl, JC (June 8, 2018). "World's first IHOP/Applebee's combo about to open in downtown Detroit". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  15. "Full Menu". IHOP. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  16. "We see what you did there, IHOP®". WQAD-TV. June 3, 2019. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  17. "IHOP inauguró tres locales en Ecuador". Ecuavisa (in Spanish). September 10, 2019. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  18. Orlando, Dan (October 26, 2017). "IHOP Express debuts at Dallas airport". Nation's Restaurant News. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
  19. "Gaslamp gets an IHOP Express". The San Diego Union-Tribune. November 22, 2011. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  20. Weisberg, Lori (December 15, 2010). "IHOP makes its way to San Diego Naval Base". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  21. "Love's, IHOP Express now open in Norfolk". Norfolk Daily News. December 21, 2016. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  22. Lucas, Amelia (December 11, 2019). "IHOP introduces new restaurant, Flip'd by IHOP, with faster service and Pancake Bowls". CNBC. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  23. Wilson, Mark (June 3, 2015). "IHOP's New Logo Smiles At You! (Like A Deranged Clown)". Fast Company. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
  24. Hackett, Robert (June 2, 2005). "Why IHOP Changed its Logo for the First Time in Decades". Fortune. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
  25. Wohl, Jessica (June 11, 2018). "That 'b' in 'IHOb' stands for a dish that IHOP already sold". Ad Age. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  26. "IHOP is changing names and putting a pancake in the middle of a burger". USA Today. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  27. "Haters Wanted IHOP to Stick to Pancakes. So Now It's Just Calling Its Burgers 'Pancakes'". Adweek. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  28. "Ihop IP, LLC v. International House of P... - 2:10-cv-06622 California Central District Court" (PDF). PacerMonitor. September 3, 2010. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
  29. Morran, Chris (September 15, 2010). "IHOP Sues IHOP Over IHOP Trademark". Consumerist. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
  30. Kisliuk, Bill (December 29, 2010). "Pancake versus prayer dropped". Los Angeles Times, Glendale News-Press. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
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