IHOP Just Collaborated with This Popular Restaurant for a First-of-Its Kind Menu

The combination restaurant model of the early to mid aughts is on the rise again, with IHOP and Applebee’s at the helm of the ship with a fresh take on an internationally successful concept.

Who doesn’t look back fondly on the days of the Pizza Hut and Taco Bell combination restaurants? Today, however, a big portion of the market is still waiting to be taken advantage of. While countless restaurant chains are working tirelessly to adjust their business models to accommodate the modern consumer, it makes sense that some would be inspired by successes of the past. And if you live in Seguin, Texas, you can be one of the first to experience the new IHOP x Applebee’s double-chain restaurant in action.

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"This dual-branded model is more than just two great restaurants under one roof. It's a vision for the future – a future of growth, of opportunity, and bringing even more communities a place where people can gather, connect, and enjoy the best of both worlds – Applebee's and IHOP,” Ramzi Hakim Group vice president Danny Hakim said during the grand opening event on Monday.

“Seguin is just the beginning, and we are so excited of what's to come,” Hakim continued. "Being in a business is a risk. Those risks are what make a business successful. If you don't try new things, you're going to stay stagnant."

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Inspired by the combination restaurant model’s worldwide success, Ramzi Hakim Group assisted in opening the first-ever IHOP x Applebee’s restaurant in Seguin, Texas, a suburb just outside of San Antonio. The group plans to follow up the grand opening with 12 more combination restaurants set to open later this year with a menu that boasts signature dishes from both IHOP and Applebee’s.

In terms of the menu, customers can expect to find unique items mixed and matched from both iconic brands, such as the Buffalo Chicken Omelette and the Ultimate Breakfast Burger. There will also be specialty cocktails available like espresso martinis and Irish coffee. When asked to give some context as to why Dine Brands decided to partner with Hakim Group, chief executive officer John Peyton had this to say:

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“They are tremendous operators, they're great developers, but most importantly, they understand innovation, they understand ‘test and learn,’ and they understand that this is restaurant number one of what we plan for hundreds. We all got into this together knowing this was a science experiment, a prototype, and that's why they were the right choice for this."

“We're not going to talk about locations yet, but we've got a bunch in the works, and we are geographically dispersed,” Peyton continued. “What I can tell you is we've got geographic variety across the country, we've got a mix of Applebee's adding an IHOP, IHOPs adding an Applebee's, and new construction,” he added. “All of those are chosen by design so we get experience with all the different variables as we perfect the model."

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