The term “icon” is tossed around often in the restaurant business.
On West Main Road in Middletown, there is a genuine icon. And its owners are local celebrities.
Bill and Karen Cardinal, of the Cardinal Restaurant Group, are proprietors of the iconic IHOP. Yes, it was once known as the International House of Pancakes. And the Cardinals qualify as local celebrities, even though Bill Cardinal in an interview before the holidays, said, “I’m not so sure about the celebrity comment, but we’ll take it.”
It was surprising to learn that the IHOP in Middletown was the first IHOP to be built in New England. Cardinal had statistics from IHOP to carbon-date his findings.
“It was built in 1967. Our store number [ends in] 01,” he said.
He explained that the other IHOP restaurants in New England were all identified by four-digit numbers and his was the first, predating other, more high-visibility locations such as Cape Cod.
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SPECIAL SITE: The A-frame of the IHOP on West Main Road in Middletown is a local landmark.
PBN PHOTO/CHRISTOPHER ALLEN[/caption]
The Cardinals bought the IHOP and leased the property in 1999. In a nod to the current ownership drama on restaurant row in Newport, they said many of the restaurants on East Main Road and West Main Road are leased properties.
“People start and they go, ‘Why are prices so expensive?’ Because unfortunately, sometimes [restaurateurs] have to pay rent as well,” Bill Cardinal said.
In 2020, the Cardinals bought the property, which allowed them to construct a 1,300-square-foot addition to the restaurant.
“This is the equivalent of building a brand-new restaurant,” Cardinal said.
He looks upon it as another opportunity to bring the restaurant into the 21st century with state-of-the-art equipment to give their employees a great place to work and to create a better experience for their guests.
The Cardinals were quick to shout out the community because “they did support us so much.”
Not only is this an investment in the family business, they said, but also in the community.
Guests and friends of the Middletown IHOP have been wondering about the iconic A-frame that is a local landmark and a familiar sight for travelers near and far. The good news is that the plans call for keeping the integrity of the existing A-frame. The interior of the A-frame – emblematic in many ways of mid-20th-century architecture – will be transformed.
“The entire A-frame, as is, is going to be gutted from the inside and that’s all going to be turned into seating,” Cardinal said.
Operationally, there will be a brand-new cookery line with all-new, state-of-the-art equipment for the crew at the cooking stations. Work has been ongoing through the holidays, including major projects such as replacing the walls, the Cardinals said.
There was only one step that required the restaurant to pause regular service with connection to outside utilities, but the IHOP has remained open throughout the process.
There are always unexpected challenges in an undertaking like this, but if all remains on schedule, the grand reopening is expected sometime in February.
It may not be apparent to those passing by on busy East Main Road, but this has been no small project for the Cardinals.
“It’s been a five-year process for us,” they said. “We’re doubling the footprint of our location. And we’re going to be hiring more servers and more cooks.”
With a laugh, Bill Cardinal added, “I think I’m biased because I’ve been doing this IHOP thing since 1988. And I don’t think anyone has better pancakes than us.”
“Dining Out With Bruce Newbury,” syndicated weekly on radio, is heard in Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont and Indiana. Contact Bruce at bruce@brucenewbury.com.
