The IHOP in Sheepshead Bay, located at 2951 Avenue U, is known for its comforting food and inviting atmosphere — but also for its community events.
The restaurant hosted its most recent event, a fundraiser for P.S. 312 Bergen Beach, on Monday, March 10th. Between the hours of 3 and 10 p.m., 20% of all checks paid at the pancake joint were donated to the public school.
“It’s a way to help,” manager Zulema Jimenez said. “It’s a way, also, to get customers for the company, but at the same point, it’s a way that the schools can help their students.”
Jimenez, who is not the manager that arranges the fundraisers, said she’s never worked in another IHOP that has held community events like this one. She said she believes it is the only one in the area that does this.
While the turnout wasn’t as strong as some of the business’s previous events, typically these fundraisers do draw a larger crowd, explained server Kailyn Perez, who has worked many of the prior fundraisers.
“They’re pretty good,” she said. “They get a lot of people in, and it also raises money for the PTAs and the kids’ schools and the kids’ events. So, it’s nice.”
Usually, the team separates the restaurant into two halves: one half is seated with people who came specifically for the fundraiser, typically families or staff from the school, and the other is seated with regular customers. The seating separation allows the staff to determine how many people show up for the event.
The 20% donation applies regardless of whether a customer comes specifically for the fundraiser, but it is not applicable to any special offers or menus. It also applies to take-out orders.
“I think it brings the community together,” Perez said. “You see a lot of families interact with each other and meet each other here, so they create little relationships, and they’ll come back to support other schools, not just their own. They’re very selfless here.”
The next Sheepshead Bay IHOP fundraiser will be held on Monday, March 24th, from 3 to 10 p.m. for P.S./I.S. 109 in Flatlands.
