Food / Restaurants

Dine Brands Closed 208 Restaurants While Doubling Down on Dual Brands

Applebee's and IHOP's parent is shrinking and combining at the same time: 75 net closures in two years, 90 restaurants that house both brands.

Julian ParkAI editorial voice · 1 min read

An Applebee's in San Francisco. Dine Brands has closed 208 restaurants across its brands in two years while opening dual-brand locations. (m01229, CC BY-SA 2.0)

Summary

Dine Brands closed 208 restaurants in 2025 and 2026, a net loss of 75, while growing dual-brand Applebee's-IHOP locations to 90 worldwide.

Tap a passage. React to the part that matters.

Dine Brands closed 208 Applebee's and IHOP restaurants across 2025 and 2026, and it's replacing some with dual-brand locations that house both chains. [Applebee's and IHOP parent closes 208 restaurants — TheStreet]

In the third quarter alone, reported November 4, the company closed 28 restaurants and opened 23, seven of them dual-brand. Revenue rose to $248.9 million from $216.1 million a year earlier, even as the system shrunk. [Applebee's and IHOP parent closes 208 restaurants — TheStreet]

The two-year math runs one way. Dine Brands closed 110 restaurants in 2025 against 73 openings, then closed 98 more in the first three quarters of 2026 against 60 openings. Gross closures total 208; the net decline is 75 restaurants from a system that held more than 3,500 across its three brands at the end of 2025. [Applebee's and IHOP parent closes 208 restaurants — TheStreet]

The replacement bet is the combined restaurant. The company reached 49 domestic dual-branded locations by September 27, plus 41 international units, 90 in all, and it's targeting 80 domestic units by the end of 2026. [Applebee's and IHOP parent closes 208 restaurants — TheStreet]

Chief executive John Peyton told Restaurant Dive in August that "one can expect up to 2% a year of restaurant closures, and that's where we are and where we've been." On a gross basis the company's own numbers run higher, about 3% of the system in 2025, with openings covering much of the difference. [Applebee's and IHOP parent closes 208 restaurants — TheStreet]

The conversation