The world’s first combination IHOP and Applebee’s restaurant is set to open next year in downtown Detroit.
via Detroit Free Press:
The 300-seat gastronomic experiment will be located inside the Millender Center, across from the Renaissance Center, and be oriented to serving guests in nearby hotels as well as downtown visitors, office workers and residents.
Sources said Wednesday that the co-branded restaurant’s menu is still being developed, and it’s not yet known whether guests could order IHOP pancakes and omelets throughout the day, alongside plates of Applebee’s boneless wings and Fiesta Lime Chicken.
The 12,000-square-foot restaurant would replace the former Sweet Lorraine’s cafe and be a franchise of TEAM Schostak Family Restaurants. It is expected to open in late 2017 and employ more than 100 people. The restaurant will feature a coffee bar and Detroit-centric interior design, Executive Chairman Mark Schostak said.
“This is the first IHOP/Applebee’s combo that’s ever been built anywhere,” Schostak said. The Schostak company “is proud to expand our portfolio by uniquely combining two nationally recognized and family-oriented brands.”
This IHOP will be the second in Detroit and not affect operations at the existing IHOP restaurant on Jefferson Avenue east of downtown.
The IHOP and Applebee’s chains are owned by Glendale, Calif.-based DineEquity, which was created in 2007 when IHOP bought Applebee’s. DineEquity CEO Julia Stewart said in a statement Wednesday that the company is excited to have its two brands under the same roof for the first time.
The IHOP/Applebee’s co-brand concept, if expanded, might help DineEquity regain growth in the ever-competitive casual dining restaurant business.
So… does this mean you can get pancakes on that 2 for $20 now?
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