IHOP: Blue A-Frame Roofs, the $2.1 Billion Applebee's Buy and IHOb

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The International House of Pancakes began in Burbank, California in the late 1950s, founded by brothers Jerry and Al Lapin with commercial artist Albert Kallis, whose wife Trudy reportedly came up with the name. Its steep A-frame buildings with bright blue roofs, built through the late 1970s, were designed to be recognized through a windshield as interstate car culture grew. In the early 1970s the company shortened its name to IHOP and used a cartoon kangaroo in commercials. The 1980s brought instability: parent company Wienerwald filed for Chapter 11 in 1982, and in 1983 IHOP was sold to a group with no restaurant experience. To compete with chains like Denny's, IHOP added burgers, sandwiches and steaks to become an all-day restaurant.

In the summer of 2007 IHOP agreed to buy Applebee's in an all-cash deal worth about $2.1 billion. With 99 percent of IHOP restaurants run by franchisees, corporate income from fees and rent was steady enough to borrow against, and the parent became DineEquity, now Dine Brands. In 2015 research showed customers read the logo as a frown, so the company added a red smile under the O and P. In June 2018 it announced it was flipping the P to a B, revealing that IHOb stood for burgers, and in 2019 it sold a burger with a pancake cooked into the patty. In late 2025 a mandatory December kids eat free promotion, created without consulting franchisees and paid for by them, set off an internal revolt.

• In 2010 IHOP sued the International House of Prayer in federal court over the IHOP acronym for trademark dilution; the case was resolved out of court by December.
• IHOP Express quick-service outlets have appeared since around 2011 on military bases, college campuses and in airports.
• A fast-casual concept called Flip'd, tested in 2019, sold pancake bowls to urban commuters.
• The first combined Applebee's and IHOP opened in downtown Detroit in 2018, and in 2024 corporate said it was exploring more dual-branded restaurants.
• The chain has more than 1,841 locations, with franchise partners across the Middle East and South America and a first El Salvador restaurant slated for 2026.