London will be the location of one of five new IHOP restaurants in Ontario to open in the next five years. Other locations are in Belleville, Windsor, Hamilton and Waterloo.
Toronto-based K2 Group announced Monday that it has entered into a non-traditional restaurant franchisee deal with California-based Dine Brands International, a full-service dining company franchising IHOP and Applebee’s restaurants in Canada. (Non-traditional restaurants are units located in spots such as hotels, gas stations, truck stops and airports.)
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“We are pleased to push forward with our international expansion plans and believe working with K2 Group creates the perfect opportunity to successfully build and grow our portfolio across Ontario,” says Tony Moralejo, president of Dine Brands International. “We are optimistic that the market is well-positioned to get back to its pre-pandemic growth momentum as we bring jobs, as well as our local and hand-made to order menu items to our Canadian neighbors.”
IHOP (an acronym for International House of Pancakes) is an American multinational pancake house restaurant chain that specializes in breakfast foods. Owner Dine Brands Global was formed after IHOP’s purchase of Applebee’s in 2007. There are more than 1,800 IHOP locations in the Americas, Middle East and South Asia, with 99 per cent of the restaurants run by independent franchisees.
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The first of the five newly announced units will open in Belleville in early 2022 at the 10 Acre Truck Stop on Hwy. 401. K2 Group, which holds investments in the hospitality, petroleum and real estate sectors, acquired the 10 Acre Truck Stop in May 2021. The IHOP Belleville location will open first and be the first IHOP to open in Ontario outside Niagara Falls.
Details about the additional locations and site selection will be announced in the months ahead.
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