Energy prices are soaring, people are cutting back on spending and a lot of businesses are jittery about making new investments.

But that hasn't stopped a new IHOP from coming to town.

The restaurant that has been under construction for weeks at the southwest corner of 11th Avenue and Seventh Street officially opened to the public on Monday.

Manager David Walter said Monday was slow, but things have since picked up for the moderately-priced chain (originally known as International House of Pancakes) that features breakfast items all day.

The restaurant comes to town at a time when many diner owners are struggling.

Establishments in Hanford and Lemoore are feeling the pinch from both ends as commodity prices soar and high gas prices make consumers more selective in their spending.

One sign of tough economic times in the area is the overwhelming number of applicants for jobs at the restaurant, many of them in the just above minimum wage range.

Walter said that there were 1,128 applicants for about 45 positions.

That's nearly double the number who applied when an IHOP opened in Tulare in December, said Tony Kouba.

Kouba is a managing partner of Hanhop Inc., the local franchisee that is a subsidiary of Landmark Restaurant Group, which owns 18 IHOPs in California, Arizona and Nevada.

"It seems on the surface that more people are looking for jobs than they were nine months ago," Kouba said.

Server positions -- which can pay much more than minimum wage through customer tips -- were the most popular positions to apply for, Kouba said.

Kouba noted that some of Landmark's IHOPs located on major highways have seen a downturn due to an apparent slowdown in freeway traffic.

But he said that on the whole, the companies' IHOPs are holding steady.

Kouba said the strategy is to "pay attention to the basics, as opposed to what you might call a gimmick."

"It's our spirit to be the friendliest and best restaurant we can be in our category," he said.

Still, IHOP will be offering a number of discounts to help persuade customers to come in. Those could include couponing, discount senior nights, single family fixed price nights, maybe some buy-one-get-one-free options.

"We're just trying to have people consider us as an option that gives them real value," he said.

Kouba said that Hanhop is in it "for the long term."

"Once this economic downturn resolves itself, they'll maybe be better times. It's just a business cycle that all of us in business are subject to," Kouba said.

Walter said he's confident that "this franchise company is in it for the long haul."

The Hanford resident said he's glad to be managing an IHOP here rather than commuting to the one in Tulare that he used to manage.

He said that back in high school, he and a friend joked that they would either go into the restaurant business or the funeral business.

"People always go out to eat," Walter said.

(July 19, 2008)