Lake Wales IHOP Dedicates New Location With Ribbon Cutting
by James Coulter
Whether you call them ‘pancakes’ or ‘flapjacks’, you’re more than welcome to eat your fill of them at the new International House of Pancakes (IHOP) location in Lake Wales.
The newly-relocated IHOP dedicated its new location along US Highway 27 in Lake Wales on Tuesday morning during a ribbon cutting ceremony hosted by the Lake Wales Chamber of Commerce.
The new building had been open since April of last year, but the grand opening celebration had been postponed until recently to ensure that all of the seasonal residents were in town for the celebration, explained Kevin Kieft, President and CEO of Lake Wales Chamber of Commerce.
IHOP has been a mainstay within the community for the past 40 years at its previous location along State Road 60, but moved to its new location along US Highway 27 in order to take advantage of the new economic and residential development along that corridor, Kieft said.
“It’s not just about IHOP over here,” he said. “It’s about business in general and residential development in the area. It is expected to grow well above average, so they are positioned in the right spot. They got here in the right time.”
Over the past five years, economic development along Highway 27 has seen a real increase, with plenty of new businesses opening there such as Wawa, Aldi, Taco Bell, Kohl’s, and now IHOP.
“[Business] has been booming over the last decade, [and] I think the next decade will we see more growth out here,” Kieft said. “So I think they are in the right spot. I think they are looking at the population density and spending habits and thought this was the best place to be. When you get those residential numbers to go up, they see that and they want to be part of that and close to that.”
IHOP chose Highway 27 as its new location mostly due to how easy it is for businesses such as themselves to open and cooperate with the city, explained Jason Ullrich, Area Director for IHOP Resturant.
“From the moment we walked into the building department with plans and say this is what we want to do, we felt like they were encouraging us, that they welcomed the update and the investment in the community,” he said. “They did not sit down and tell us a list of all the stuff we had to comply with. They welcomed us and told us how easy it was to be work with them, and it was really nice.”
Now that IHOP has been in its new location for nearly over a year, they expect their business to continue to thrive. As long as they continue serving their famous pancakes 24/7, that certainly seems likely.
Mayor Eugene Fultz, who cut the ribbon during the ceremony that morning, believes the same way. He is quite impressed with how businesses are quick to embrace Lake Wales as a community, and he expects even more to follow suite and set up shop there.
“This is a very prosperous spot [for new business],” he said. “So thank you so very much for not moving out of Lake Wales, but just relocating to Lake Wales.”
Currently, IHOP is offering its “All You Can Eat Pancakes” special for a limited time from now until February 24. With the purchase of any classic breakfast combo, guests can enjoy unlimited refills of their famous Buttermilk pancakes for just $4.99. (Offer is valid per guest, per order, dine-in only.)
IHOP in Lake Wales is located at 2803 Ridge Way, Lake Wales, FL 33859, and open 24/7. For more information, call 863-676-6748.
