*By Madison Alworth* From the "Dollar Zombie Drink" to a pancake beer called "I-HOPS," Dine Brands Global, the owner of Applebee's and IHOP, is working on new ways to drive traffic. And it seems to be paying off. "We had great performance from both brands. IHOP's total sales were up over 3 percent. Applebee's comp sales were up 7.7, which is the highest in the restaurant business," the CEO of Dine ($DIN) Brands, Steve Joyce, said Wednesday in an interview on Cheddar. Revenue increased by 11 percent to $194.1 million and adjusted earnings per share came in at $1.53, a penny short of analyst estimates, but up from $0.91 a share last year. The company has gone through several changes this year, changing its name from DineEquity and even temporarily rebranding its pancake house as "IHOB" ー the mystery around what the "B" stood for was one of the "buzzworthy events" Joyce touted Wednesday. Dine also brought on a new CFO to help acquire small, regional, fast-casual chains that feature "healthy" or "ethnic" foods like Mediterranean or Mexican cuisines. Back in May, Joyce said he wanted to make a purchase by the end of the year. M&A has not been uncommon in the industry ー both Panera Bread and Au Bon Pain were bought by JAB Holdings in 2017, and Arby's owner Inspire Brands sealed deals with Buffalo Wild Wings and burger company Sonic this year. The search for growth comes amid declining foot traffic at shopping malls, where so many of these locations are based, and as delivery services like Uber Eats and Grubhub ($GRUB) increase in popularity. To combat that trend, Dine Global has partnered with DoorDash, which Joyce said in a statement "will drive sustainable positive sales and traffic." "We remain focused on investing in our brands, providing our guests with traffic-driving culinary innovation and exploiting new opportunities to increase market share," he said in the earnings release. Dine Global shares were up 1.8 percent after the earnings report. For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/ihob-worked-dine-brands-global-reports-strong-earnings).

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