IHOP is the restaurant chain whose name began as International House of Pancakes.
The chain was founded in the Los Angeles area in 1958 by Jerry Lapin, Al Lapin Jr., and Albert Kallis, with help from Sherwood Rosenberg and William Kaye. Its original full name emphasized the restaurant’s specialty: pancakes and other American breakfast foods. The first location opened in Burbank, California, in July 1958.
The acronym IHOP became the chain’s shorter marketing name in 1973. Although the shortened name is now dominant, IHOP still expands to International House of Pancakes. The company later became associated with Dine Brands, which also operates Applebee’s.
People sometimes confuse IHOP with other breakfast chains such as Denny’s, Perkins, and Waffle House. Those restaurants may serve pancakes, but their names did not originate as International House of Pancakes. IHOP’s identity has also occasionally been used for publicity stunts, including a temporary 2018 rebranding as “IHOb,” but the established restaurant name remains IHOP.