IHOP (US: /ˈaɪ.hɒp/ EYE-hop; acronym for International House of Pancakes) is an American multinational pancake house restaurant chain that specializes in American 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.
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, Panama, Peru, Ecuador and Guatemala), the Middle East (United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Qatar) and the South Asian Subcontinent (India and Pakistan), including 161 that are owned by area licensees and 1,680 that are franchised. 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.
History
Logo used from 1994 to 2003Jerry Lapin, Al Lapin, and Albert Kallis founded International House of Pancakes in the Los Angeles, California area in 1958 with the help of Sherwood Rosenberg and William Kaye. The first restaurant opened on July 16, 1958 at 4301 W. Riverside Drive in Burbank, California. The second and third locations at 8555 Vesper Avenue in Panorama City, California and 3625 Stocker Avenue in Baldwin Hills, California (a former Brown Derby restaurant) are still open for business.
The first prototype 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.
In 1973, the chain's name was shortened to "IHOP" for marketing purposes, 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. In December 2019, IHOP announced plans to launch a chain of fast casual breakfast restaurants called Flip'd.
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.[10] In the arrangement, Applebee's stock holders would receive $25.50 a share. 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.
Applebee's shareholders approved the acquisition with a 70% vote. 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 sue IHOP for 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. The buyout successfully closed on November 29, 2007, and the corporate entity IHOP changed its name to DineEquity on June 2, 2008. A franchisee opened a hybrid Applebee's/IHOP restaurant in downtown Detroit in mid-2018.
Locations
The company has 1,841 locations in the Americas, the Middle East, and South Asia.
IHOP Express' first location opened in 2011; they are a quick service version of the chain offered at locations such as airports, school campuses, military food courts and travel centers. The first standalone public location of the concept opened in downtown San Diego in 2011.
In 2019, IHOP announced plans to open a fast-casual restaurant, Flip'd by IHOP. Flip'd would include a menu serving pancake bowls, burgers, and fried chicken.
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 said that the previous logo looked too much like a frown.
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. 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".
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. The lawsuit was dropped on December 21, 2010, with the dispute resolved out of court.
What makes this a Better Baked Ziti than your everyday easy pasta recipe? We think it has something to do with the three different cheeses that make this baked ziti recipe so ooey-gooey good, but we'll let you decide. One thing is for sure, this easy baked ziti recipe is going to be a hit come dinnertime!
- 1 pound ziti
- 1 (15-ounce) container ricotta cheese
- 3 cups (12 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 1 (28-ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- Preheat oven to 350º. Coat a 9- x 13-inch baking dish or 3-quart casserole with cooking spray.
- In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook ziti until just barely tender; drain and place in a large bowl.
- Add ricotta cheese, 1-1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, garlic, salt, and parsley to the ziti; mix well. Spread half the spaghetti sauce over bottom of prepared baking dish. Spoon ziti mixture into baking dish; cover with remaining spaghetti sauce, then sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
- Bake 25 minutes, then top with remaining mozzarella cheese and bake 10 additional minutes, or until heated through.
***Use your favorite type of flavored spaghetti sauce to add additional flavor to this ziti. And don't worry if you don't have ziti on hand -- just substitute any other equal-sized pasta shape.
On November 13th, as part of World Kindness Day, we are encouraged to spread kindness like an infectious cold. We want to share it more than usual because studies show when others observe kindness in action they are more likely to carry out an act of kindness, too.
So, imagine if you head out for the day and your neighbor’s garbage can has tipped over. Instead of ignoring it and letting the wind make a mess, you pick it up and return it to the corner. Three other neighbors notice and give you a smile and a nod on their way to work.
One of those neighbors notices a stranded driver on the side of the road on his commute to work. He remembers your thoughtfulness and offers assistance to the stranded driver. Several passersby take notice.
At a business office, a woman struggles with a paper jam. She’s had a horrible day. The customer has been waiting, but she remembers the stranded driver she passed earlier in the day. The customer lets the office worker know to take her time. Everyone has a bad day.
We each have the potential to improve each others’ lives through understanding and kindness. Whether it’s a friend, family member, coworker or stranger, our ability to show our humanity should have no limit.
WORLD KINDNESS DAY HISTORY
The World Kindness Movement started World Kindness Day in 1998 and has spread to 28 countries.
