Skyland Workforce Center Hiring Fair Leads to New Jobs at IHOP

A new IHOP opened at the Shops at Park Village, and with help from the Skyland Workforce Center, several individuals have new jobs there.

The Workforce Center sponsored a hiring fair for IHOP on July 12, in advance of the restaurant’s July 29 opening. Twelve people were offered jobs at IHOP on the spot.

IHOP first came to the Shops in 2008, becoming the first national sit-down restaurant to open in DC’s Ward 8. However, as the case with many others, that dining spot shuttered in the wake of the Covid pandemic.

WC Smith, which owns the Shops, and IHOP’s corporate office committed to revive the restaurant there. IHOP selected Joseph Knight, an area manager for IHOPs in New Jersey, to be the franchisee and operate the restaurant.

Knight noted that IHOP was his favorite restaurant growing up. He got his start at IHOP as a dishwasher at age 14 and continued working there in high school and college before becoming a full-time employee.

After it opened in 2008, the IHOP became a neighborhood meeting spot for area residents, politicians and community leaders.

At the Shops the revived IHOP joins a Dunkin, which is slated to open in late 2024, two banks, a Chipotle restaurant, and other retailers.

Skyland Workforce Center sponsors a hiring fair on the first Friday of the month. The events are held in the West Building of THEARC, 1801 Mississippi Ave. SE. The free fairs run from 10am to 3pm and attract employers from a wide range of industries in and around the Washington, DC, area.