IHOP Joins Slew Of Franchises Opening In Coney Island This Summer

As we, and others, have observed for some time now, all the big food franchises are clamoring for a piece of Coney Island.

Last year, we welcomed an Applebees, followed by It’Sugar. Next, we saw leases from Johnny Rockets, A Piece of Velvet, and Wahlburgers.

Now IHOP is jumping on the Coney Island bandwagon, opening a location on 1019 Surf Avenue by the end of the summer, a spokesperson for the restaurant franchise has confirmed.

“Coney Island is a quintessential, classic New York place and we are a classic American brand, so what could be better?” IHOP spokesman Craig Hoffman told us. “We are very excited to be a part of it.”

The popular breakfast spot will be built on the site of an old, illegal furniture shop, right across the street from Luna Park, as first reported by Coney Island Blog. Construction is expected to start in April and will be complete before the end of summer 2015, Hoffman said.

The folks at Amusing the Zillions have more details:

The lease for a 5,400 square foot IHOP at 1019 Surf Avenue in Coney Island was signed on Thursday, broker Joe Vitacco told ATZ. The franchisee who will be operating the restaurant is Bryan McKenzie, who owns an IHOP in New Jersey. Construction is expected to take about four months after the landlord completes the vanilla shell.

ATZ also looked into why so many landlords in the area prefer to rent to chains rather than the mom-and-pop shops that used to dominate block, and it’s worth a read.

Joining IHOP this summer, Subway, which rented the spot next door over a year ago, is finally set to open their massive “Subway Cafe” – complete with leather sofa chairs and a fireplace. In addition, farther down on Surf Avenue, Johnny Rockets has decided to resume their temporarily-stalled plans to open this summer, say our friends at the Coney Island Blog.