IHOP to Close 100 Restaurants Over Next Few Months

Could this be the end of the Rooty Tooty Fresh And Fruity Pancake?

Thanks to lagging sales and underperformance due to the COVID-19 outbreak, IHOP will be closing almost 100 restaurants across the country. According to Business Insider, the company has been hit hard by the current economic climate. While some restaurants have been surviving by providing take-out meals and offering outside dining, IHOP's breakfast menu hasn't translated as easily to the new business model. The company's restaurants were down 23.5% in the third quarter, numbers that are now forcing the company to make major cuts and closing locations.

Dine Brands, the owner of IHOP and Applebees, announced last week that they were shutting down its least-profitable pancake restaurants in order to streamline the business. This year, Dine Brands has already closed 35 locations, with 16 of them shut down in just the last quarter. IHOP currently operates locations in Poughkeepsie, Newburgh, Middletown and Monroe. Fran Atria, owner of the Middletown and Newburgh locations says his restaurants are not closing. "Our restaurants will be here well beyond 2021."

As for Applebee's, the company says that they will need to shut down an additional 15 locations by the end of the year. So far, 52 Applebee's restaurants have closed in 2020. Currently, the restaurant chain has locations in Poughkeepsie, Middletown, Newburgh, Kingston and Brewster.

As of right now, it's unclear which IHOP or Applebee's locations will be shuttered. In 2017, way before the pandemic or current economic problems, the company announced major closures, which resulted in the loss of 100 locations. Applebees closed their Woodbury Common location two years ago, but the company disputed reports that it was due to economic reasons. The restaurant claimed it closed only after their lease was not renewed.