IHOP Becoming IHOb: New IHOb Stands for International House of Burgers

The restaurant chain formerly known as International House of Pancakes, or IHOP, announced last week that it was going to change its name to IHOb. What that chain didn't tell people was what the letter "b" would stand for.

For the past week, fans of the restaurant wondered what the mysterious letter b represented. Breakfast, bacon, brunch and burgers were all tossed out as suggestions, and Monday brought an answer. IHOb now stands for International House of Burgers, a tweet from the company confirmed Monday.

But the change might not be permanent. A release from the company said the letter "p" in IHOP was flipped "for the time being."

The change is actually to celebrate the restaurant's new line of burgers. Called "ultimate steakburgers," there are seven for customers to choose from, including a "Big Brunch" burger that comes topped with bacon, a fried egg and potato, and a "Cowboy BBQ" burger topped with onion rings.

"Everyone knows that IHOP makes world-famous pancakes so we felt like the best way to convince them that we are as serious about our new line of Ultimate Steakburgers as we are about our pancakes, was to change our name to IHOb," the chief marketing officer for IHOb restaurants, Brad Haley, said in a press release.

IHOb is offering special deals on the new burgers included on its menu for a limited time. At certain locations, customers can try one of the new burgers for as little as $6.99, a price that includes unlimited fries and a drink.

"Burgers are a quintessential, American menu item so it makes perfect sense that IHOP, one of the most iconic, all-American comfort-food brands in the world, would go over the top to create a delicious line-up of quality burgers that hit the spot any time of day," IHOb head of culinary, Nevielle Panthaky, said according to a release.

The chain has been known as IHOP since 1958, when the first restaurant opened in Toluca Lake, California. The brand now has more than 1,700 franchised restaurants around the world.

The company is part of Dine Brands Global, the same company that owns the Applebee's chain. The two were combined in 2007 under the Dine Brands Global name and make up more than 3,500 restaurants worldwide.

It's unclear how long the name IHOb will stick, but the new burger menu items seem like they're here to stay.