Up To 160 Applebee’s & IHOP’s To Close

DineEquity, the company that owns both Applebee's and IHOP, has announced they'll be closing between 105 and 135 Applebee's locations and 20-25 IHOP restaurants as well.

In the Second Quarter report, DineEquity's Chairman and CEO Richard Dahl said,

We are investing in the empowerment of our brands by improving overall franchisee financial health, closing underperforming restaurants and enhancing the supply chain. We believe 2017 will be a transitional year for Applebee's and we are making the necessary investments for overall long-term brand health and expect to see improvement over the next year."

He also discussed IHOP:

IHOP remains on solid ground, despite soft sales this quarter.  I am optimistic about the growth in both effective franchise restaurants and system-wide sales."

Sales for both IHOP and Applebee's were down in the quarter ending June 30. Applebee's was down 6.2 percent and IHOP was down 2.6 percent.

Applebee's has 26 Iowa restaurants. There are two in Cedar Rapids, one in Coralville, Cedar Falls, and Waterloo. IHOP has 10 Iowa locations including Cedar Rapids, Coralville, Waterloo, and Cedar Falls.

There has been no announcement about which locations will close.

[via DineEquity, Applebee's, and IHOP]