Local girl creates IHOP special

Katie-Lynn Brown wasn’t satisfied with IHOP’s pancake selection and decided to tell her family about it during a visit last month to the Smoketown location.

“They have all these Christmas specials, like pecan pie [pancakes] and pumpkin pancakes, eggnog and gingerbread pancakes,” said the 12-year-old Dumfries resident. “I said, ‘well, they’re missing hot cocoa.’ What do you [think you] drink after you shovel the sidewalk or play in the snow?”

Before their server Rudy Garcia left the table, little sister Abigail told him about Katie-Lynn’s idea. Since it was a slow weekday, Garcia went back to the kitchen with her suggestion and after several attempts, came up with her ideal confection.

When mother Tonia Benfield came back in later that month, Garcia hastily arranged a meeting with his general manager to see where they could go with the idea.

After eventually getting the go-ahead from the franchise owner, IHOP’s latest special was born. Through Friday, patrons can purchase Katie-Lynn’s Hot Cocoa Hotcakes which includes two buttermilk pancakes, two eggs, two choices of meat and hash browns for $6.99.

The pancakes are filled with hot cocoa powder and chocolate chips and topped with powdered sugar, whipped cream, marshmallows and chocolate syrup.

Tonia said Katie-Lynn is never short of ideas and praised Garcia for humoring her daughter. She and her husband Mike were pleasantly surprised to see a corporate giant like IHOP follow through with the wishes of a 12-year-old girl.

Mike worked as a server at the now-defunct Bar-J off Gordon Boulevard and being a homestyle restaurant, people would sometimes ask for items that used to be on the specials menu. But he doesn’t remember them actually creating something entirely new for someone.

“The fact that he had the freedom to do that was pretty cool,” Tonia said.

A decision hasn’t been made whether to bring back the special each winter but Garcia promised that he would try the menu item out at the Stafford location, where he works on weekends.

In the meantime, Katie-Lynn and her family is telling everybody to come to IHOP this week. That includes grandma’s fellow mall walkers.

And when Katie-Lynn comes back Monday, vanilla ice cream will once again accompany her special.

Staff writer Kipp Hanley can be reached at 703-878-8062.