IHOP officially opened its doors to customers at 8 a.m. Saturday.
The IHOP is located at 410 S. College Mall Road, the former location of Casa Brava. Bloomington IHOP manager David Leohr said the company has been looking to open a restaurant in Bloomington for years.
“What we want to be is a place where people can come 24 hours a day, seven days a week and become a part of our community,” Leohr said.
Leohr said they didn’t advertise the opening of the restaurant, but people still made their way into the restaurant Saturday.
“We like to have what’s called a soft opening where we just open the doors and let the community realize, ‘Oh hey! They’re open now,’” Leohr said.
After opening at 8 a.m., Leohr said the restaurant was pretty packed by 9:30 a.m.
“Even with the cold weather, a little bit of snow here, we’ve had a really good turnout from the community in this area already,” Leohr said.
Leohr said the Bloomington IHOP is using a system called Yelp Nowait which allows guests to put their names on the waiting list and get notified via text message when their table are ready. He said this system will allow guests using it to not have to wait in their small lobby.
“That way in the wintertime they can sit in their warm car before they come in,” Leohr said.
Ramsee Boone started her first shift as an IHOP server at 6 a.m. Sunday. She said by 9:30 a.m. the restaurant had a nonstop wait.
Boone grew up going to IHOP with her family in the south, and said she thinks one of the best things about the restaurant is that it’s open 24 hours.
“It’s just always there,” Boone said. “I think that’s the best part about it.”
