Plus, the Rock invests in Salt & Straw ice cream, and more news to start your day

IHOP’s new fast-casual concept, called Flip’d, is focused on speed and convenience in dense urban areas.

IHOP is opening a new fast-casual restaurant next spring

IHOP is debuting a new fast-casual restaurant, called Flip’d, that translates the pancake purveyor’s sit-down menu items into breakfast foods served on the quick, the chain announced today.

Flip’d will debut in Atlanta in April, with tentative plans for additional locations in New York, D.C., Denver, and San Francisco. With a focus on speed and convenience in dense urban areas, the IHOP spinoff will be about half the size of a typical IHOP, with limited seating, digital kiosk and counter ordering instead of wait staff, and online ordering for pick-up or delivery.

Items on the menu at Flip’d will include egg sandwiches, breakfast burritos and bowls, baked goods, coffee, and non-breakfast options like salads, wraps, and IHOP’s angus steakburger and crispy chicken sandwiches. There will also be a build-your-own pancake bar and something called a “pancake bowl,” which appears to be just pancakes in a portable container, because we live in an age of bowl food.

Breakfast is a growing category in the fast-food space, but many to-go options aren’t freshly prepared, IHOP president Jay Johns told CNN. According to Johns, Flip’d can attract customers who usually grab breakfast at coffee shops: “The reason for the visit was the coffee, and they basically settled for whatever food they happened to have at their coffee shop … We’re flipping that on its head.” (Get it??)

And in other news…

The target of yesterday’s deadly shooting in Jersey City was a kosher supermarket. [NYT]

Due to a poor domestic beet harvest, the U.S. will have to import more sugar this year than it has in four decades, primarily from Mexico. [NPR]

Why a merger between Dean Foods — America’s largest milk producer, recently bankrupt — and the Dairy Farmers of America — a large dairy cooperative that reportedly has a history of engaging in anti-competitive behaviors — could hurt dairy farmers. [NYT]

Taco Bell has developed a plant-based ground beef substitute, to be used for two new meatless menu items created for international Taco Bell restaurants. [NRN]

MillerCoors is making a new hard seltzer. [Biz Journals]

The Rock and business partner Dany Garcia are the latest investors in the artisan ice cream brand Salt & Straw, known for its novel flavors. [QSR Magazine]

A teen in Minneapolis has started a pizza business as part of his homeschooling curriculum. [City Pages]

When you’re a 28-year-old professional gamer who can’t figure out how to slice bread:

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