On Monday, Nextbite, a leader in virtual restaurants, announced a partnership with the iconic IHOP restaurant chain to roll out two delivery-only brands, Thrilled Cheese and Super Mega Dilla. These new brands are now available initially to consumers through more than 50 IHOP restaurants in nine states, including Arizona, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Nevada, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Texas.
“We’re thrilled to partner with IHOP who has a large footprint across the United States, where we can maximize their kitchen output with new, in-demand, delivery-only menus,” says Alex Canter, CEO and co-founder of Nextbite. “Based on our early test results and the excitement shown so far by the IHOP franchisees, we hope to expand to more IHOP restaurants throughout the year.”
Thrilled Cheese offers a fun take on grilled-cheese sandwiches, like the “New Wave Fave” featuring American cheese, bacon, tomato, over-medium eggs, and avocado on multigrain bread. The Super Mega Dilla menu was inspired by the latest social trend of folding quesadillas in unique and fun ways, and now we’re delivering these delicious folded dilla’s right to our guests’ doors. The new menu includes five savory quesadillas, such as the Mega Chicken Ranch Dilla, made with crispy chicken tenders, ranch, bacon, pepper jack cheese, and avocado. Guests can now order the Thrilled Cheese and Super Mega Dilla menu items via Uber Eats and DoorDash.
“As we look back at the past two years, IHOP’s off-premise business has sustained its momentum at over 20 percent of our sales mix. This Nextbite partnership will be a continued growth driver for our restaurants, specifically as we look at non-peak hours during lunch and dinner,” says Jay Johns, President of IHOP. “These new virtual brands leverage what we do best, create delicious food on our griddles, and the menus are perfect for our existing equipment and capabilities.”
In addition to the Thrilled Cheese and Super Mega Dilla, Nextbite’s growing brand portfolio of delivery-only menu items includes George Lopez Tacos and HotBox by Wiz Khalifa, along with other menus, such as Miss Mazy’s Amazin’ Chicken.
