about us vision & values careers brands social responsibility social responsibility responsibility caring for the environment supporting our neighborhoods valuing our employees careers investors corporate governance contact us dineequity s home page content one of the largest full service dining companies in the world . dineequity was created from a foundation established by ihop an american icon to our guests and a franchising company focused on providing strategic visionary leadership for our franchisees unparalleled opportunities for our team members and enhancing value for our shareholders . by bringing applebee s together with ihop in november 2007 we made a bold new commitment to our brand revitalization abilities and to the power of franchising . dineequity has successfully made our two businesses more powerful and more successful than either brand could have been apart . our dedicated focus combined with a core expertise in brand revitalization and franchising know how is the basis for the winning formula that has defined the financial success of our business in recent years . as reported by nation s restaurant news applebee s and ihop are the category leaders in casual and family dining . with more than 3 700 applebee s and ihop restaurants in 19 countries and a 99 % franchised system of more than 400 franchisee partners dineequity is one of the largest full service restaurant companies in the world . applebee s with more than 2 000 restaurants in 49 u.s. states puerto rico and 16 countries around the world applebee s is one of the world s largest casual dining brands . founded in 1980 in atlanta georgia by bill and t.j. palmer applebee s offers classic bar and grill menu items featuring higher quality ingredients and premium preparation techniques reasonable prices and quality service in a neighborhood setting . today we are building upon this heritage and further differentiating applebee s to maintain the brand s position at the top of the casual dining segment . we expect to generate sustainable same restaurant sales momentum for the applebee s brand by significantly increasing the effectiveness of applebee s marketing efforts making meaningful improvements to the operational performance of our restaurants and continuously introducing fresh innovative dishes for our guests to enjoy . ihop when al and jerry lapin opened the first international house of pancakes in toluca lake california on july 7 1958 they never dreamed that five decades later the family restaurant they founded would become the american icon it is today . from humble beginnings we have grown to become the leading family dining brand with more than 1 684 ihop restaurants in 50 states the district of columbia and puerto rico . internationally ihop has locations in bahrain canada dubai uae guam guatemala kuwait mexico the philippines qatar and saudi arabia . today ihop is the place where people connect over breakfast enjoy study breaks grab a bite before or after sporting events and so much more . and no matter what menu items they order there s one ingredient that s always constant a smile . and as the leader in family dining our 99 % franchised system delivers strong free cash flow results that have been the hallmark of the brand s financial performance for more than half a century . home about us brands social responsibility careers investors corporate governance contact us web accessibility privacy statement terms of use site map dineequity 2015 dineequity inc. .