IHOP

Jerry 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 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. using a cartoon kangaroo in its commercials at the time, and since then the full name and acronym have been officially interchangeable. In 1976, International Industries was renamed to IHOP, Inc., and IHOP Corporation was founded as a new holding firm for IHOP, Love's Wood Pit Barbecue, and Original House of Pies (which was sold shortly afterwards). 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. In the arrangement, Applebee's stock holders would receive $25.50 a share. 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 to 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. == Menu ==

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. Some IHOP locations also feature coffee bars, where guests can order espresso drinks. == Locations ==

The company has 1,841 locations in the Americas, the Middle East, South Asia and Southeast Asia. In 2016, IHOP expanded into Central America, opening in Panama, and later in 2019 into South America, opening three locations in Ecuador and one location in Peru. 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. A franchisee opened a hybrid Applebee's/IHOP restaurant in downtown Detroit in mid-2018. In March 2024, Dine Brands announced it was exploring Applebee's-IHOP dual-branded restaurants within 12–24 months, following the successful introduction of prototypes in international markets. == 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". In November 2025, IHOP leadership revealed plans to franchisees to offer Kids Eat Free in December. This was met with a response of revolt from franchise operators, due to the fact they were not consulted beforehand, there was no opt-out option, and the costs that they would inccur from the free food offer. Operators have expressed concerns that they would not be compensated fairly and the promotion was not a marketing decision, but a leadership decision. ==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. == See also ==