\”Really IHOP? Burgers? SMH. Michael Dunker
An iconic American institution has undergone a major transformation. And people of the internet are not pleased (shocker!).
"Whose bright idea was it to change IHOP to IHOb. It\’s like the word \’moist\’ no one feels comfortable hearing or saying it 😭," lamented one Twitter user.
It\’s true: One of the country\’s most beloved breakfast chains is venturing into new territory, and (temporarily) changing its name to signify the switch: International House of Pancakes, aka IHOP, aka the only dignified place to order a short stack at 3 a.m. is now calling itself International House of Burgers, aka IHOb, aka an acronym no self-respecting diner aficionado will ever use.
The chain began teasing a change last week and took to Twitter Monday morning to make the official announcement. Predictably, the internet freaked out (notably, the New York Times offered a list of alternative titles that would make the new name salvageable. International House of Beyoncé is the best).
"IHOP makes world-famous pancakes, so we felt like the best way to convince them that we are as serious about our new line of Ultimate Steakburgers as we are about our pancakes, was to change our name to IHOb," chief marketing officer Brad Haley said in a statement.
The good news for truly angered pancake connoisseurs is that all the burger brouhaha appears to be a marketing ploy. According to AdWeek, the name switch is likely just a temporary stunt to grab attention (Guess what?: It\’s totally working!), and the chain will probably revert back to business as usual soon.
But while IHOP/B is garnering all the press, burger rival Wendy\’s is kind of stealing the spotlight. "Not really afraid of the burgers from a place that decided pancakes were too hard," the company tweeted after the announcement. Nothing like a sick burger-related burn to start your week.
Now That\’s Interesting
Regardless of its name, the chain restaurant has served up an array of foods for six decades. In a single year, IHOP serves more than 700 million pancakes and 5.3 million pounds (2.4 million kilograms) of T-bone steaks. Bon appetit!
