More Than 100 Applebee’s & IHOP Restaurants Will Permanently Close
More closures are coming for two major restaurant chains.
Dine Brands Global, the company that owns both Applebee's and IHOP, announced that they will be closing over 100 locations of the restaurants after a decrease of sales in their latest financial quarter. Restaurant Business reports that almost 100 IHOP's and 15 Applebee's will permanently close over the next six months.
Over a three-month period, IHOP saw a 30% decline in sales. Despite the drop the company seems hopeful in a statement made to Restaurant Business.
...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.
As far as Applebee's goes they had a 13.3% drop.
It's no secret that the pandemic had a negative impact on the restaurant industry but takeout and delivery was able to save them. But on the flip, places like Applebee's which offer late-night dining and bar service, have also been hit hard in that aspect.
However, breakfast dining options have struggled more
...and has been less able to adapt to the takeout and delivery that have dominated during the pandemic
At this time, it's unknown what restaurant locations are facing closure. There's about 18 Applebee's in West Michigan and 7 IHOP's.
According to the Dine Brands website, Applebee's is one of the world's largest casual dining brands with a total of 1,749 locations. IHOP has 1,823 restaurants total. Both numbers are as of June 30, 2020.