Dine Brands Inc, the parent company of Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar and IHOP, said today in federal filings that Darren Rebelez would be stepping down as president of the IHOP brand. Effective June 13, Jay Johns will serve as president.
“The board of directors believes that Mr. Johns’ knowledge of the business, solid relationships with our franchisees, and his strategic leadership over the years position him as the ideal candidate to lead IHOP into its next phase,” the company said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
Johns has been with Dine Brands in various operations leadership roles since 2009, most recently serving since April 2017 as the family-dining IHOP’s senior vice president of operations.
Rebelez had served as IHOP president since April 2015.
During his tenure, Rebelez sought to modernize the brand and increase sales during the lunch and evening dayparts. He oversaw the IHOb name change stunt, which expanded the brand’s burger line.
“Our restaurants are open 24 hours a day, so we need to be able to introduce something other than breakfast food and generate more interest and more discussion around other meal periods, specifically lunch and dinner,” Rebelez told NRN in August.
Charles Scaccia will succeed Johns. Scaccia has been with IHOP for over 21 years, most recently as regional vice president for franchise operations.
As of Dec. 31, Dine Brands had 1,831 IHOP restaurants around the world.
This story will be updated as details develop.
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