When the International House Of Pancakes announced that they were changing their name from IHOP to IHOb, the nation collectively scratched their heads. What could the b stand for? After speculation and a futile guessing game, IHOP announced that the name change signaled a new focus on burgers. The International House of Burgers doesn't really ring though, does it?
The internet was not too pleased with the name change, and IHOb faced instant backlash. Now, the restaurant chain is taking a step back and returning to its pancake roots. "We’re giving away 60¢ short stacks on July 17 from 7a-7p for IHOP’s 60th birthday," wrote the restaurant on Twitter this past Monday. "That’s right, IHOP! We’d never turn our back on pancakes (except for that time we faked it to promote our new burgers)." The new promotion sounds good enough to wash away the memory of IHOb. Speaking with USA Today, IHOP’s executive director of communications Stephanie Peterson stated, "We knew we had a very tough job to do to convince people that we take our burgers as seriously as we take our pancakes. So, we went bold with the campaign." We don't want bold. We want pancakes.