IHOP is coming to Downtown Silver Spring with a new fast-casual concept called Flip'd by IHOP. The new restaurant model features only a kitchen and a front counter for ordering, pickup and delivery. While the concept was devised by the chain two years ago, the timing is perfect here, as takeout and delivery are where most of the pandemic-era dining profits are to be made.
Flip'd by IHOP's menu will include - of course - their famous pancakes, but also a Build Your Own Pancake Bar custom ordering option, pancake bowls with toppings, egg combos and egg sandwiches, breakfast bowls and burritos, burgers, chicken sandwiches, salads, wraps, baked goods, fresh-squeezed orange juice, and signature coffees, including Nitro and specialty espressos.
Ordering can be done online, or at a kiosk in the front of the restaurant. The chain says it wants to offer a fast way to get IHOP breakfast items to compete with frozen and fast food breakfast products.“Today, millions of Americans are settling for sub-par breakfast foods that are either microwaved or have been sitting under a heat lamp because they’re forced to grab something while at their usual coffee spot,” IHOP President Jay Johns says.
Flip'd by IHOP will be located between Panera Bread and Red Lobster at Downtown Silver Spring. Also coming to the Peterson Cos. property is a new Sleep Number store, at the corner of Georgia Avenue and Ellsworth Drive.
Doesn't the "fast casual" concept, by definition, include dining in?
ReplyDeleteYou often have the option of sitting inside at fast casual restaurants, but the distinction is mainly about indicating the quality of the food is perceived as being higher at "fast casual" vs "fast food."
DeleteI wonder how much of a market there will be, for carryout pancakes. It seems to me that most of the appeal of ordering pancakes at a restaurant, is that they are fresh off the griddle. The quality quickly deteriorates the longer they sit.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I am surprised that they don't explicitly mention bacon and breakfast sausage - both links and patties - on the list of meats they offer. Or even waffles.
Eww. A *more casual* iHop? No, no. Their focus groups must've been subliminally swooned because this is a terrible idea borne of a trifecta of American culture vices: myopic convenience, sugar addiction, and an illusion of individual choice. Pancake bowls on a Chipotle-esque assembly line for people on the go? The location is frustratingly awful for an in-and-out model. The parking lot is only accessible from one point, it's always full, and the vibe of the DTSS area is to create a space for people to hang out. Here we go again... another corporate restaurant chain on the DTSS carousel. The only thing this latest banal idea has going for it is its proximity to HerbaFi.
ReplyDeleteAgree 100%. Terrible.
ReplyDeletebased idea but everyone knows that parking lot is a waste of time
ReplyDeletei would happily walk to a place like this if it were near my home and not in downtown