THEY’RE BACK: IHOP returns to Dayton with new Miller Lane location; more on the way

IHOP has returned to the Dayton market with the opening of its new restaurant on Miller Lane in Butler Twp., in space that previously housed a Max & Erma's restaurant.

Credit: Mark Fisher

Credit: Mark Fisher

IHOP has returned to the Dayton market with the opening of its new restaurant on Miller Lane in Butler Twp., in space that previously housed a Max & Erma's restaurant.
What to Know
By Mark Fisher
Jan 24, 2020
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One year after its three Dayton-area restaurants shut down abruptly and were padlocked, IHOP has returned to the Dayton market with a new franchise owner and a new restaurant on Miller Lane’s restaurant row.

The new IHOP is located in the former Max & Erma’s restaurant at 6930 Miller Lane, just off I-75 in Butler Twp. It opened “softly” in late December, and launched its full 24-hour operations yesterday, Jan. 23, according to Steven Jones, the restaurant’s general manager.

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The restaurant seats 340 and employs 130, Jones said. It is the first in Dayton to include a relatively new IHOP “Coffee Bar” concept, where customers can sit in a bar setting and order lattes, cappucinos and other specialty coffee drinks. Plans call for adding beer, wine and mimosas sometime later this year, Jones said.

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IHOP has returned to the Dayton market with the opening of its new restaurant (and this Coffee Bar) on Miller Lane in Butler Twp., in space that previously housed a Max & Erma's restaurant.

Credit: Mark Fisher

icon to expand image

Credit: Mark Fisher

The new IHOP’s franchise owner-operator has no connection to the franchisee who operated the three IHOP restaurants in Beavercreek, Huber Heights and Springfield, that shut down unexpectedly in January 2019.

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This new IHOP is operated by The Nazarian Group, which oversees 10 IHOP restaurants in the Cincinnati-area market and seven in the Houston area, as well as some other restaurant concepts in the Los Angeles area, Jones said.

Look for more IHOPs to open in the Miami Valley.

“We are looking to expand in the Dayton market fairly quickly,” Jones said.

IHOP has returned to the Dayton market with the opening of its new restaurant on Miller Lane in Butler Twp., in space that previously housed a Max & Erma's restaurant.

Credit: Mark Fisher

icon to expand image

Credit: Mark Fisher

IHOP enthusiasts have started finding the Miller Lane restaurant, and their reactions have included gratitude and surprise, Jones said.

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“Several are overjoyed that they don’t have to drive to Richmond or West Chester anymore to get their IHOP,” Jones said.

A restaurant initially intended to be the Dayton area’s fourth IHOP, on Benchwood Road in Vandalia, never opened as an IHOP despite being built and outfitted as an IHOP, including signage. That restaurant opened briefly in early 2019 as Wright Cafe, but it shut down in June after about three months.

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Jones said many customers have asked about last  year’s closings, and are assured that they were not connected with the Miller Lane restaurant’s franchise owner.

“We’re here to support the community and the people of Vandalia and Butler Twp., and we’re excited to be here,” Jones said.

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About the Author

Mark Fisher, a 1981 graduate of Ohio State University and a 1976 graduate of Beavercreek High School, is a third-generation Dayton-area resident who has worked for the Dayton Daily News since 1983. He covered higher education and K-12 education accountability issues for nearly 20 years before taking over the food and dining beat in 2006.