IHOP to replace Village Inn restaurant in Grand Forks, ND

The Village Inn family restaurant at 3951 32nd Ave. S. in Grand Forks has closed but will reopen in about a month as an International House of Pancakes, officials said Monday.

Tami Smith of Fargo said she and her husband, Terry Smith, are the franchisees for IHOP in North and South Dakota. They plan to reopen the restaurant in about mid- to late May as an IHOP. It will be the second IHOP in North Dakota; the Smiths also have a restaurant in Fargo. Tami Smith said they anticipate a staff of 100 to 125 full- and part-time employees.

Leslie Herslip, marketing coordinator for Food Management Investors of Minot, corporate owners of the Village Inn chain, said Grand Forks staff was informed of the impending sale last week, and the restaurant closed Sunday. She did not have an exact number of employees.

Smith said IHOP will bring in some management staff, but others will be local hires. In addition to the Fargo location, the Smiths also have IHOP locations in Aberdeen, Watertown and two in Sioux Falls, S.D., as well as one in Sioux City, Iowa.

The IHOP chain, although famous for its breakfast fare, is a full, family restaurant, according to its Web site. As of Dec. 31, the chain has 1,456 locations in 50 U.S. states, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The first IHOP opened in 1958 in Toluca Lake, Calif.

The nearest Village Inn restaurants are located in Fargo and Moorhead.

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