CLOSE Casual-dining restaurants have struggled as more customers have gravitated toward quick-service restaurants like Panera Bread or Chipotle Mexican Grill. USA TODAY 
 
 There are plans to shutter up to 160 Applebee's and IHOP locations, according to parent DineEquity. (Photo: Andrew Burton, Getty Images) 
 
 The parent company of Applebee's and IHOP plans to close up to 160 restaurants, vastly boosting the number of eateries from the two comfort-food chains that it plans to shutter. 
 
 Some 105 to 135 Applebee's restaurants will close, up from the 40 to 60 that parent DineEquity said would close in the first quarter. Also on the chopping block are an estimated 20 to 25 IHOP sites, up from about 18. 
 
 At the same time, the two chains now will open 125 restaurants globally between them in new locations, DineEquity said. 
 
 The casual-dining segment, where both chains are positioned, is experiencing increased troubles as more customers have gravitated to the quick-service restaurants like Panera Bread or Chipotle Mexican Grill, many of which market themselves as offering healthier and more upscale food. 
 
 Analysts say Applebee’s, in particular, has had a hard time. 
 
 Applebee’s "remains out-of-favor with casual-dining consumers....Sister concept IHOP may be feeling the effects of DineEquity’s struggles as well," said Instinet analyst Mark Kalinowski in a report released Friday. 
 
 But DineEquity officials say the painful job of closing restaurants will help in the long run. 
 
 "We are investing in the empowerment of our brands by improving overall franchisee financial health, closing underperforming restaurants and enhancing the supply chain," interim CEO Richard Dahl said in a statement. 
 
 He said Applebee's is in the middle if a "transitional year" and is "making the necessary investments for overall long-term brand health." 
 
 The company declined to release a list of locations that will be shuttered. 
 
 DineEquity reported net income of $20.9 million, or $1.18 a share, in the second quarter, a drop from $26.4 million, or $1.45 a share, compared to the same quarter last year. 
 
 Applebee's domestic system-wide comparable same-restaurant sales declined 6.2% in the second quarter of 2017, while IHOP's declined 2.6% during the same period, according to the company. 
 
 "IHOP remains on solid ground, despite soft sales this quarter. I am optimistic about the growth in both effective franchise restaurants and systemwide sales," Dahl said. 
 
 DineEquity reiterated its plan to open 20 to 30 Applebee’s, mostly abroad, and revised its plan to open 80 to 95 IHOP restaurants, mostly in the U.S. That's up from the 75 to 90 restaurants globally that it announced previously. 
 
 "Restaurant closures are a normal course of business in the industry and when you have a footprint as large as ours," Amy Mason, senior vice president for global communications and consumer insights, said. "They are either older locations in a lapsed trade area, where once vibrant retail, residential and traffic characteristics are no longer present; others are closed when they are underperforming with unsustainable economics. Closing these well-below average restaurants can have a positive brand benefit since guests are no longer experiencing a substandard experience." 
 
 On Thursday, the company also named Stephen Joyce, former CEO of Choice Hotels, as its new CEO. He replaces Julia Stewart, who resigned in February; she was at the helm when Applebee's as acquired in 2007. 
 
 DineEquity CFO Thomas Emrey resigned in March and no permanent replacement has been named. 
 
 The Glendale, Calif.-based company has 3,700-plus restaurants in 19 countries. 
 
 DineEquity stock was trading at $38.7, up $1.42 or 3.81%, in mid-afternoon trading. 
 
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 Follow USA TODAY reporter Zlati Meyer on Twitter: @ZlatiMeyer 
 
 Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2wMoRw5 ||||| CLOSE IHOP is officially changing its name, but hasn’t announced why or exactly what it means yet. Veuer's Sam Berman has the full story. Buzz60 
 
 IHOP hinted it will change its name to "IHOb" next week. (Photo: International House of Pancakes) 
 
 IHOP is hinting that a big change is coming -- with just the small flip of a letter. 
 
 The pancake chain, in a tweet Monday morning, suggested that it would change its name from "IHOP" to "IHOb" starting June 11. 
 
 That's right. It's not a typo, although the company has not disclosed the meaning of the new acronym. 
 
 For 60 pancakin’ years, we’ve been IHOP. Now, we’re flippin’ our name to IHOb. Find out what it could b on 6.11.18. #IHObpic.twitter.com/evSxKV3QmT — IHOP (@IHOP) June 4, 2018 
 
 “We’re serious about the quality of food and our menu, and this name change really reflects that,” says Stephanie Peterson, IHOP’s executive director of communications. 
 
 Founded in suburban Los Angeles by Al and Jerry Lapin in 1958, the International House of Pancakes shortened its name to IHOP in 1973, according to the company's website. Now, 45 years later, IHOP appears to be heading for another tweak. 
 
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 The likely change comes in the middle of an important year for the restaurant. In late February, Dine Brands Global, the parent company of IHOP, announced it would close 30 to 40 IHOP restaurants along with 60 to 80 Applebee’s restaurants in an effort to acquire and grow small chains that offer healthy and ethnic food. This move followed a trend from the year prior, in which Dine Brands Global shut down 23 IHOP restaurants. 
 
 At the same time, though, Dine Brands has offset some of the losses by opening new restaurants in select markets. IHOP opened 60 restaurants and Applebee's opened up 19 restaurants in 2017. 
 
 People had mixed reactions to the tweet suggesting a name change was coming. Some guessed at what the acronym "IHOb" stood for, while others took the opportunity to complain. . 
 
 I am not ok with IHOP turning into IHOB — Krista Nikole (@kristanikolee) June 4, 2018 
 
 The company will announce the likely name change on June 11. 
 
 Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2Jgur0i ||||| IHOP Says 'IHOb' — And The Internet Says, What? 
 
 Enlarge this image toggle caption Scott Olson/Getty Images Scott Olson/Getty Images 
 
 International House of Pancakes has created a stir by saying that after being IHOP for 60 years, it is "flippin' our name to IHOb" — setting off speculation over what that mysterious b could signify. 
 
 For now, the company isn't saying. IHOP promises to reveal the meaning on June 11. 
 
 But the Internet isn't big on waiting. Hungry for answers, people responded to the cryptic tweets: Could it be breakfast? Biscuits? Brunch? The improbable bancakes? Simply, and minimally, bacon? The on-trend bitcoin? 
 
 Those are a few of the more popular guesses on IHOP's Twitter feed, in a thread that's littered with the company's coy responses — and an annoying/cute (depending on your patience level) insistence on replacing p's with b's. 
 
 "Please tell me you're joking," a Twitter user named kayla said. 
 
 "Oh blease, this is no joke!" IHOP replied. 
 
 Patrick Ford tweeted, "I'm just over here wanting some answers! Stop b-ing elusive and tell me what the answer b!" — and the company responded, "batience, Batrick, batience!" 
 
 After the company wrote, "There's so many obtions, what could it b?!" — Extra D0G replied, "Can you not blease?" 
 
 Encouraging people to keep guessing, the folks running IHOP's social media account repeatedly cited the endless "possi-b-ilities." But at least two people noted that the company was missing out on a chance to say "bossibilities." 
 
 One guess the company dismissed outright was "burritos." It did so without discussing "purritos" — but if you want to see photos of cute cats cozied up in socks, it's here for you. 
 
 The hubbub over the "b" comes as IHOP prepares to mark the 60th anniversary of its first restaurant, which opened outside Los Angeles in the summer of 1958. 
 
 Whatever the IHOPlan is for the chain's widely recognized name, it seems to have been long in the making: The Twitter handle for IHOb is already reserved and verified, having joined Twitter in July 2016. 
 
 According to DINE Brands, which operates both the IHOP and Applebee's restaurant chains, there are currently more than 1,671 IHOP locations in the U.S. In the most recent fiscal year, IHOP stores generated $185 million in revenue, on sales of $3.3 billion. 
 
 At its annual stockholders' meeting last month, IHOP reported that nearly half of its customers come in during breakfast time. Lunch follows (with 28 percent) and then dinner (16 percent) and late-night service (7 percent).
– Fans of IHOP and Applebee's, take note: It's possible your hometown location will be closing, though it's also possible one will opening there soon. Parent company DineEquity announced a plan to close as many as 160 of the restaurants and to open up to 125 new ones, reports USA Today. The problem is that the company hasn't decided specifics yet in regard to locations. A safe bet when all is said and done: It will be harder to find an Applebee's in the US but easier to find an IHOP. The Los Angeles Times provides more details on that front: 105 to 135 Applebee's restaurants will close, and while that will be offset slightly by 20 to 30 openings, most of those openings will be outside the US. As for IHOP, 20 to 25 restaurants will close, but 80 to 95 will open, mostly in the US. DineEquity operates 1,968 Applebee's locations worldwide and 1,752 IHOP sites.