Almost without fail, chain restaurants perform exceptionally well during health inspections. Almost. There will always be the random bad apple. The one restaurant that underwhelms with a series of violations. Big brand fast food chains typically are the best, as cleaning is down to an analytical science (say what you will about McDonald’s, but the back kitchen area is almost always spotless). Other brands though struggle with staying on top of everything required for an acceptable performance grade, which is exactly what happened for one popular spot in Tempe.
The IHOP located at 705 South Rural Road has about as up and down of a health reportcard record as any restaurant can have. It has received two D inspection grades since July of 2022, but it also has an A grade slipped in there. Due to the constant fluctuation of the restaurant, it is visited on a more regular basis than other Valley-area restaurants. In fact, it’s been inspected 10 times since October of 2021. Unfortunately, its most recent inspection is also one of its worst, as it received another D grade, resulting in a scheduled re-inspection.