FRUITPORT TOWNSHIP, MI - IHOP will open in Fruitport Township during January 2018.
The franchised restaurant, 5220 S. Harvey St. near The Lakes Mall, will open around mid-January with seating for about 140, said Adam Korn, senior manager of brand communications for IHOP Restaurants corporate, in an email response.
The restaurant will be built with IHOP's latest designs, including wood-like porcelain floors and banquette seating, he said.
A skeleton now, the building will likely be enclosed before snow falls. It's located on a out lot of the Meijer on Harvey Street.
Fruitport Township Supervisor Heidi Tice previously said that she expected the restaurant to open "before the snow falls."
"For 59 years, IHOP has proudly served guests freshly made breakfast foods at any time of day, every day," Korn said.
The first Muskegon-area IHOP will be open 7 a.m.-10 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays, and 7 a.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays, he said.
About 120 people will be needed to staff the restaurant. Hiring will take place for cooks, servers, service assistants, hosts and assistant managers, Korn said.
Talks with the township had begun by November 2016, and it went through the Fruitport Township Planning Commission in December or January, Tice said in a previous interview.
Right now, the nearest IHOP locations are in Holland and Grand Rapids.
In addition to The Lakes Mall and Meijer, the Muskegon-area IHOP will be in close proximity to Best Buy, Menards, Lakeshore Marketplace, Lakes Crossing Shopping Center, various restaurants and more. It's next door to Texas Roadhouse and across the street from a new Sleep Number store.
IHOP is one of several current developments in and around the mall, including the upcoming construction of an Aldi, the addition of Righteous Cuisine to the mall food court and The Haunted Hall taking over four retail spaces in the mall.
The International House of Pancakes, now widely known as IHOP, first opened in Toluca Lake, Calif, in 1958. It was founded by Al and Jerry Lapin.
As of June 30, 2017, there were 1,752 IHOP restaurants in 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and Saipan. As of that same date, IHOP's international locations included Bahrain, Canada, Guatemala, India, Kuwait, Mexico, Panama, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates.
IHOP uses a 100 percent-franchised system.