That pancake is toast
A tattered IHOP sign flutters in the wind outside the shuttered restaurant on Fourth St. in Coeur d'Alene on Wednesday.
BILL BULEY/Press
COEUR d’ALENE — The IHOP at 2301 N. Fourth St. has closed its doors.
A sign in the window said the restaurant, which has reportedly been around for at least decades, was permanently closed as of Feb. 21.
“We greatly appreciate our neighbors’ patronage and support,” the sign said. Under the note was the name Jay Jordan, owner, IHOP restaurants, Inland Northwest.
On IHOP's Facebook page, Jorden wrote this on Monday night: "While it is difficult to close our doors on 4th Street, we are very glad that a majority of our teammates will remain with our company at other locations. Thank you, again. We hope to see you soon!"
The number of employees affected by the closure was not available.
There are IHOPs in Spokane on Division Street and Sprague Avenue, and one at the Spokane Valley Mall, which is "temporarily closed," according to the mall's website.
The shutdown of the Coeur d'Alene site came as a surprise to some, and was disappointing for others.
“I was just there on Friday and no one mentioned going out of business,” one resident wrote in a local Facebook group on Monday.
"I spent a lot of time inside that place," Brian Price of Coeur d'Alene posted in a note on the Facebook site. "Good times and bad and made some friends along the way! I miss all of you and hate to see the end of an era."
Several local groups gathered regularly at the restaurant, including the Kootenai County Reagan Republicans, which will reportedly now meet at JB’s Restaurant on Appleway Avenue.
Syd Albright, who writes a weekly column for The Press, leads a well-attended history club each Wednesday morning.
The group moved to IHOP in 2020 when its usual meeting place, JB’s, proved too small to accommodate them with social distancing guidelines in place.
“I think they did a good job,” he said. “They took care of us.”
Albright said the group had planned to return to JB’s this week, even before news broke of IHOP’s closure.
“When I went there to thank them for all their service, I didn’t know they were closing down,” he said.