IHOP Just Announced Nationwide Delivery, So RIP, Your Weekend Plans

IHOP has been through a lot during the past month or so, but it seems like it's coming back from the whole IHOb thing better than ever. The company is celebrating its 60th birthday this year, and already began the festivities with a $0.60 deal on short stack pancakes today, July 17th (time to drop everything and go feast). An even bigger announcement is IHOP's collaboration with DoorDash, a popular restaurant delivery platform, which aims to expand the company's already growing to-go food services. The partnership was just announced earlier today, and is IHOP's "first, and largest, national delivery program."

If you've ordered from IHOP before, you know that online ordering is already possible through the restaurant's website and app. The DoorDash partnership, however, will increase the scope their delivery services tenfold: IHOP plans to use the opportunity to launch delivery from over 300 restaurant locations across the U.S. "Undertaking a national delivery partnership is an exciting new chapter in our story and builds on the foundational work we've done on IHOP 'N GO this past year, including introducing a mobile app, online ordering through IHOP.com, and special packaging that preserves the quality of our food for takeout," explained IHOP President Darren Rebelez in a press release. Don't underestimate the importance of the custom packaging he mentioned — the struggle of ordering food that doesn't taste fresh by the time it arrives is very, very real. IHOP uses packaging that is specially designed to keep dishes like pancakes and hamburgers hot and fresh while they're on their way to your doorstep.

Food delivery apps have been game changing for restaurant chains like IHOP, for both companies and consumers. We get meals from our favorite spots delivered do our front door, and they get more orders coming in than ever — it's a win-win. "Our partnership with DoorDash helps us bring more pancakes, to more people, whenever and wherever cravings strike – something IHOP guests told us they wanted," Rebelez noted, highlighting the increasing, widespread demand for food delivery services. Sometimes, you just need to eat a stack of syrupy pancakes in the comfort of your own house while watching Tom Hanks rom-coms--and IHOP wants to make that possible.

In addition to today's $0.60 short stack deal at participating IHOP restaurants around the country, the company is also celebrating its 60th anniversary by offering DoorDash customers free delivery on all IHOP orders over $10 until Sunday, July 22. Right now, there's about 300 IHOP locations that offer delivery through DoorDash, but the restaurant's leadership predicts that "close to 1,000" more will be added by the end of 2018. "This brand has consistently been a top requested restaurant by our customers," DoorDash COO Christopher Payne spoke about the famed breakfast spot. Teaming up with IHOP is an important step toward DoorDash's goal of providing the best possible variety of selections when it comes to food delivery, and it doesn't hurt that fans across the country will have even more access to the restaurant's dishes no matter what time they're craving them.

IHOP's all new line of Ultimate Steakburgers, the root behind the IHOb controversy, will be available for purchase by ordering IHOP 'N GO through DoorDash. The seven-burger menu includes options like the Big Brunch burger, Mushroom & Swiss burger, and Cowboy BBQ burger. Customers can pretty much order anything they would get from the IHOP menu when dining in on DoorDash — french toast, breakfast combos, crepes, and limited edition items like Belgian Dark Chocolate Mousse pancakes alike. The age of quick-and-easy food delivery apps has been upon us for years now, and IHOP has made it its mission to become the industry's next big thing.