Feel like going to the International House of Pancakes for a short stack? Of course you do, because pancakes are wonderful. But you might be a little confused, as IHOP isn’t IHOP anymore. At least for now.
The famous pancake chain announced on Twitter that they’re now going to go by “IHOb,” and refuse to say why until June 11th. Whether this change is temporary or permanent is still a big mystery. No matter what, it sounds like IHOP (er, IHOb) is looking to rebrand itself in a huge way.
One guess is that they might be fading away from pancakes and focusing on something else. Maybe bacon? Even so, it’s intriguing that the “b” is lowercase. IHOP hasn’t made any changes to their name in the 60 years they’ve been around, making it even more mysterious.
Founded in 1958, there are reported to be 1,650 active IHOP restaurants throughout the world.
While they’re best known for breakfast, they also offer a lot of tasty lunch and dinner selections. Plus, all the coffee you could ever want, making it a perfect stop for college students and general caffeine addicts.
The IHOP Twitter had a blast teasing fans, many who were in disbelief that the change was real. After all, it’s nowhere near April 1st. And it’s hard to wait around these days for an announcement, especially when pancakes are potentially at stake.
Here’s the initial tweet:
For 60 pancakin’ years, we’ve been IHOP. Now, we’re flippin’ our name to IHOb. Find out what it could b on 6.11.18. #IHOb pic.twitter.com/evSxKV3QmT
— IHOP (@IHOP) June 4, 2018
Then, they included a poll. At the time of publication, 41% thought the “b” would stand for bacon, while 26% thought it’d be barnacles. Which would be kind of an….unexpected rebranding for the company.
IHOb? What could it b? #IHOb
— IHOP (@IHOP) June 5, 2018
Everyone’s favorite frozen pizza DiGiorno piped in with some support.
It’s not P. It’s b.
— DiGiorno (@DiGiorno) June 5, 2018
So far, one of the best guesses came from a Holiday Marie Love, who thought hard about what that b could stand for.
It makes sense — there’s more to breakfast than just pancakes. Why not include eggs, bacon, sausage, waffles, and fruit in there as well?
We’ll all know for sure on June 11th, so make sure to mark your calendar.
