IHOP relocating to West Babylon space formerly occupied by Red Robin, 88 Burger

Pancakes are due to be served up in a West Babylon space that used to house Red Robin Gourmet Burgers and Brews.

An IHOP restaurant is planned for 1035 Montauk Hwy., which would be a relocation of less than half a mile away from the pancake eatery’s current address, 651 Montauk Hwy.

The restaurant would be operated by a franchisee, according to an IHOP representative.

"They are excited to move into a new space in West Babylon that offers ... more space for guests to dine in at IHOP than before," the representative said in an email, adding that an opening date could not be confirmed.

The intended IHOP location is an end space in the Great South Bay Shopping Center.

On Aug. 13, an application for a bar/restaurant special exception permit for the planned IHOP eatery was submitted to the Town of Babylon, town spokesman Ryan Bonner said in an email. On Oct. 5, the town planning board approved the exception, which the town requires for any bar or restaurant that will have more than 16 seats, he said.

The applicant is seeking to make interior alterations for a 196-seat IHOP that would be in a 5,560-square-foot building, Bonner said. A building permit is needed for the work, he said.

The applicant for the IHOP project is Joseph Conti, said Jason Sobel, an executive vice president based in the Woodbury office of Ripco Real Estate LLC who represents the shopping center's landlord. 

Conti did not respond to Newsday’s requests for comment.

The West Babylon space where IHOP is headed has had three tenants since 2014.

Red Robin opened its first Suffolk County restaurant there in July 2014.  The restaurant closed in August 2022, Sobel said. 

Leo Chen opened Wagyu Steakhouse, which specialized in premium Japanese A5 wagyu beef, in the former Red Robin space in April 2023. A little over a year later, the restaurateur turned the eatery into 88 Burger because burgers had been the steakhouse’s bestseller, Newsday reported in November 2024.

In March last year, 88 Burger closed, Sobel said.

The relocation of IHOP will benefit the restaurant and the shopping center, said Sobel, who was not involved in the pancake restaurant's lease.

"The property gets a very established, beloved brand in IHOP, and the tenant gets a prominent end-cap in one of the busiest centers on the south shore of Long Island," he said in an email Wednesday.

Pasadena, California-based Dine Brands Global Inc. is the parent company of IHOP, Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill + Bar and Fuzzy’s Taco Shop.

IHOP has more than 1,700 restaurants internationally, including 20 on Long Island.

By Tory N. Parrish

tory.parrish@newsday.comToryParrish1

Tory N. Parrish covers retail and small business for Newsday. She has worked at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and Observer-Dispatch in Utica, N.Y.