It’s official: Belleville will be the home of the first IHOP location outside of Niagara Falls in Ontario.
Belleville Mayor Mitch Panciuk announced Monday morning that the famous breakfast restaurant will be built at the former 10 Acre Truck Stop site.
The truck stop was purchased by Toronto-based K2 Group in May of 2020. The company struck a deal with DINE Brands Global to open five IHOP locations in Ontario beginning in 2022.
The investment totals $2 million and will create approximately 50 jobs with the current 10 Acre staff being retained.
Donald Hazlett, Senior Franchise Business Consultant with DINE Brands Global, explained the motive behind selecting Belleville.
“401 access was really, really important. Being right on the highway it was a great access point and unbelievable car counts. Once we investigated the city we found that there’s a need for another breakfast restaurant especially on that side of the city.”
Construction on the restaurant will begin this month and the open date is set for February of 2022.
Hazlett said that the current structure will be stripped down “to the studs” and will be built into a whole new facility that will seat 184 people.
Mayor Mitch Panciuk spoke about what it means for the city to land the big brand restaurant.
“Anybody talking about a $2 million investment is a big deal, 60 jobs is a big deal, more service is a big deal. When you get these real prestigious brands like IHOP looking at our city it kind of validates what we’re doing and it shows that we’re on the right track and that people are taking notice of Belleville and they want to be here. This, I think, with everything else that’s been happening in the past plus what’s going to happen in the future, it’s about a new positive future for us with a lot of confidence and a lot of excitement for improving the services that Belleville residents are going to have.”
The Belleville franchise will be the first of five opened by K2 group in the new expansion deal which also includes locations in Hamilton, Waterloo, London and Windsor.
(Photo: City of Belleville)
