As many as 100 underperforming IHOP restaurants in the U.S. could be closed over the next six months, their parent company said, as they have taken a blow from Covid-19 indoor-dining restrictions.
Dine Brands Global Inc. on Wednesday said its sales for the third quarter ended in September fell 18.7% to $176.6 million, though it booked gains from delivery, online and takeout orders. As of Sept. 30, some 1,595 of 1,614 Applebee’s restaurants and 1,425 of 1,683 IHOP restaurants in the U.S. were open for in-restaurant dining, the company said.
If implemented, the closure of IHOP restaurants could undo about six years of expansion. The company’s IHOP portfolio in the U.S. grew to 1,710 restaurants at the end of 2019 from 1,579 in 2014.
The Glendale, Calif.-based company also said it expects about 15 Applebee’s restaurants in the U.S. to be closed in the fourth quarter due to development activity by Applebee’s franchisees. Applebee’s has downsized from 1,878 U.S. restaurants in 2015 as casual-dining restaurants have been struggling to increase sales in the U.S. with consumers turning to newer brands and restaurants offering more healthful options.
With indoor-dining capacity limits still in place, restaurants are offering outdoor dining, reduced indoor dining, delivery and takeout to continue generating revenue, though some restaurant owners have said those options haven’t equaled what they expected to earn this year before the pandemic upended public life.
