Plans Announced to Close Dozens of Applebee’s, 100 IHOP Locations

Dine Brands Global, the parent company of both Applebee’s and IHOP made the announcement in its third-quarter earnings report on Thursday that several of the restaurants’ locations would close permanently after a financial review.

In a news release, Dine Brands stated that 15 Applebee’s locations would close for good before the end of the year.

The company added that nearly 100 IHOP locations in the U.S. would be closing in the next six months as the pandemic continues to affect indoor dining operations across the country.

Sales for the third quarter of 2020 declined at both Applebee’s and IHOP due to the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions on in-restaurant dining operations at the federal, state and local levels.

“Given the impact of the pandemic on individual restaurant-level economics, the company is evaluating the viability of greatly underperforming domestic IHOP restaurants,” Dine Brands stated in the release.

The closures will take place over the next six months.

Dine Brands has not released information on which locations will close.

As of September 30, 2020, 1,425 out of 1,683 domestic IHOP locations were open for in-restaurant dining, along with 1,595 out of 1,614 domestic Applebee’s locations.