It's getting easier to order a side of IHOP flapjacks with Applebee's Bourbon Street chicken.
The parent of both chains is ramping up spending on remodeling and dual-brand restaurants, with Dine Brands Global CEO John Peyton saying 45 of those locations were open nationally as of June 30. Dine Brands is set to have 80 by year-end; the first Applebee’s-IHOP restaurant opened in February 2025 outside San Antonio.
U.S. restaurant chains have been experimenting with brand mash-ups, including Yum Brands’ combination KFC-Taco Bell locations. Inspire Brands has paired its Dunkin’ Donuts with Baskin-Robbins ice cream in some locales and with its Jimmy John’s sandwiches in others. The strategy offers bigger menus while saving on real estate costs by putting two brands in the same building.
Dine Brands’ dual-banner locations on average are now generating twice the revenue of one of its traditional single-brand locations, though Peyton said profit growth will likely be incremental as the company recalibrates operating costs and recoups development expenses over the long run.
Much of its development investments going forward will be focused on aiding franchisees in dual-brand conversions and remodeling traditional locations. Dine Brands Chief Financial Officer Vance Chang said the company’s capital spending reached $23.2 million in the second quarter, far above the $9.3 million level for the same period of 2025.
Dine Brands in the second quarter brought its dual-brand approach to the Los Angeles region, “one of the most competitive restaurant markets in the country,” Peyton told analysts during a quarterly earnings call Wednesday.
Expansion across North America
Regional franchisee Ashoori Group opened the dual-brand eatery in June at 4410 W. Century Blvd. in Inglewood, about 12 miles southwest of downtown Los Angeles. Formerly a traditional IHOP, the dual-brand restaurant operates 24 hours, seven days a week.
The concept debuted more recently in Ontario, Canada, with one opening Aug. 4 in Ajax and two more in the works in that province for Windsor and Barrie. Conversion timelines are yet to be announced by Dine Brands.
Like other restaurant companies, Peyton said Dine Brands was affected by declining consumer sentiment as elevated gas prices and other costs weighed on spending for food away from home. “Guests aren't walking away from dining out, but they are making intentional choices of when and where they choose to go,” Peyton told analysts.
U.S. customer traffic data firm Placer.ai said restaurants generally faced a challenging first half, as consumers became more selective about discretionary spending. The full-service casual dining category — which includes Applebee’s and IHOP, along with rivals like Outback Steakhouse — bore the brunt of the slowdown.
The category as a whole posted a 1% annual decline in visitor traffic in the second quarter, Placer.ai said in a July report. Dine Brands posted a 4.2% drop, with Outback parent Bloomin’ Brands down 1.7% while Chili’s parent Brinker International notched a 3.2% gain.
The Pasadena, California-based operator of about 3,500 restaurants, including Fuzzy’s Taco Shop, reported a 4.4% annual increase in total sales for the second quarter ended June 28, reaching $240.9 million. A 1.8% drop in same-store sales at Applebee’s was partly offset by a 1.5% same-store sales gain for IHOP.