IHOP & Applebee's Are Both Closing More Restaurant Locations

IHOP will lose 99 locations over the next six months.

Courtesy of IHOP
Courtesy of IHOP

To say it's been a difficult year for the restaurant and bar industry puts it lightly. Mom and pop shops and national chains alike have seen closures nationwide. And now, IHOP and Applebee's are joining the likes of Dunkin', Popeyes, and Pizza Hut with more shutdowns. 

Dine Brands Global announced the closures earlier this week. IHOP will say goodbye to 99 locations over the course of a six month-period while Applebee's will shutter 15 branches during its fourth quarter, Restaurant Business Online reports.

This isn't, however, the first wave of trouble for the chains. Both saw closures of "greatly underperforming" restaurants during their third quarter. Twenty Applebee's and 16 IHOP locations ceased operations.

"While IHOP anticipates closing just under 100 of our underperforming restaurants in the next 6 months, we are optimistic about the continued improvement in sales numbers and are continuing to see improvement in our off-premise business, which has nearly doubled since the start of the pandemic," a Dine Brands spokesperson said in a statement, according to Restaurant Business Online. "Closures are part of the normal course of business in the industry, especially for a company of our size and footprint, and occur for many reasons—including a restaurant being in a lapsed trade area—where once vibrant traffic characteristics are no longer present—or as a result of leases expiring, among other reasons."   

IHOP, however, is hoping plans to scale down its portfolio aren't permanent. In a call with investors Wednesday president Jay Johns said the brand is "confident we will eventually replace these severely underperforming restaurants with better-performing restaurants," per Fox News.

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Megan Schaltegger is a staff writer at Thrillist.