A wild turkey, apparently in the mood for pancakes, showed up for the ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday morning at Grand Island’s new IHOP.
The turkey wandered onto the scene, surprising the folks gathered in front of the restaurant. Maybe he heard it was the International House of Poultry. The bird soon wandered away, perhaps frightened by the sight of the giant scissors used for the ribbon-cutting.
The restaurant, located at 2248 N. Webb Road, opened for business on Tuesday.
Among the people on hand were owner Mohanad Khmous of Manhattan, Kansas. It wasn’t hard to spot Khmous’ vehicle in the parking lot. It was the one with Kansas license plates reading “Pancake.”
The Grand Island restaurant is the ninth IHOP owned by Khmous. He has five in Kansas and three in Missouri.
His newest IHOP will be the first of a number of locations he plans for Nebraska. He also has his eye on Kearney, North Platte, Hastings and Fremont.
Khmous said he was proud to be part of the Grand Island community, and looking forward to serving people in the area.
Customers will be impressed, Khmous said, with IHOP’s high standard of customer service.
Before the ceremony, a couple of local dignitaries got a chance to flip pancakes in the kitchen. They were Mayor Roger Steele and Cindy Johnson of the Grand Island Area Chamber of Commerce.
The restaurant has 70 employees, about half of whom are full time. It measures 4,600 square feet, Khmous said.
Brenda Burch will work at the location as district manager.
IHOP is open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week.
