Last month, the city approved a rezoning request and site plan to convert the former restaurant into a financial institution, according to city documents. Proposed changes include façade upgrades and the addition of a drive-through, which required council to grant a variance.
Zavakos said he was hired by the receiver for a separate financial institution to put the property on the market. Built in 2017 and early 2018, the property was up for sale in December of 2018 for an asking price of $3 million, according to an online listing at that time. IHOP officials never fully explained why the restaurant failed to open as an IHOP after construction was completed in early 2018.
In 2019, a restaurant called “The Wright Cafe” opened in the space, with color banners stretched across existing “IHOP” signage. But that restaurant shut down three months later, in late May 2019. Located around the corner from the Miller Lane “restaurant row” — soon to be officially rebranded as Benchwood Station — the building has sat empty for more than two years, according to Zavakos.
Wright-Patt Credit Union has not provided any details to the city regarding an estimated timeline for opening, according to Assistant City Manager Amber Holloway. Multiple requests for comment from a representative for the financial institution went unanswered as of Thursday afternoon.
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