Brookhaven IHOP closes

Published 5:03 pm Monday, February 25, 2019

IHOP in Brookhaven has closed, with signs on the door informing customers and employees that the restaurant is closed permanently.

A sign on the door reads: Dear IHOP Associate: We have made the difficult decision to permanently close your IHOP location. Therefore, your employment with the company is ending effective February 25, 2019.

A sign on the door also reads: PERMANENTLY CLOSED. Another one reads: Nearest IHOP is in JACKSON.

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A U-Haul truck was parked behind the restaurant Monday with some employees on hand. They declined to comment about the closure.

The closure comes just a few weeks after a television report detailed the restaurant’s “C” grade on its health inspection. The TV report said insects were found in the building Jan. 23. A sewage leak was also reported at the restaurant last month.

IHOP opened near I-55 on Stribling Road in 2015.

The IHOP in Laurel has also closed its doors for good, according to WDAM.com. A sign with similar information was posted on the door of the location Monday.

Carolyn Lewis, a former employee at that location, said she was caught off guard by the news that she no longer has a job.

“They shut the doors on us today, and we don’t know why,” Lewis said.

Lewis said she and other employees worked hard to attract people to the business and were shocked to know the doors were now shut. She’s now left wondering what tomorrow holds.

“I’m just heartbroken because I loved my job,” she said. “This was my only source of income.”