Get Ready for the Next Restaurant Double-Up: IHOP and Applebee’s

Yes, Virginia—well, Texas, actually—there IS a combination Applebee’s-IHOP restaurant. In its earliest days, people ate it up. 

Dine Brands (DIN), which owns both of the aforementioned restaurant chains along with the Fuzzy’s taco shops, last month opened its first combination restaurant in Seguin, Texas, near San Antonio. On a conference call earlier today, management said opening-week sales at the location were nearly triple what it saw in its previous incarnation. 

“We expect the performance to settle to a steady state below this amount, but we’re very encouraged by the initial results of this location,” said CEO John Peyton on the call, a transcript of which was made available by AlphaSense. 

The restaurant—which recalls other combinations, including “KenTacoHuts” and mashed-up Dunkin’ Donuts-Baskin-Robbins shops—has a menu with stuff from both chains, as well as exclusive items like a Buffalo chicken omelet. (Dine Brands doesn’t refer to the combined restaurants as “IHOPBee’s,” but perhaps it should.) 

The company plans to open as many as 14 dual-branded restaurants this year, management said today. 

Shares of Dine Brands were rising Wednesday afternoon, though they’re down about 20% this year. The company reported its latest financial results earlier today, pointing investors toward roughly flat full-year same-restaurant sales growth at both the IHOP and Applebee’s chains.