Family feels at home in Agoura IHOP





The life of a restaurateur is a labor of love, and the Wickens family, owners of the International House of Pancakes in Agoura Hills, love what they do.

For close to 25 years, the family run business has had a family member on duty at all times. Three generations of Wickenses, often working side by side, have served in the restaurant

In 1988 at the age of 56, Bob Wickens opened the Agoura IHOP location and worked there alongside his wife, children and grandchildren until he retired in 2007.

One of the keys to Wickens’ success has been getting to know his customers and the community by being in the restaurant on a daily basis.

Looking back, Wickens said he would do it all again.

“It’s a real nice way to make a living. You always know you are going to be able to eat,” he said.

Although Wickens, now 80, is retired, he is still involved in major decisions that impact the restaurant. His daughter Dana Wickens-Hawks and her husband, Tom Hawks, of Camarillo, now manage the restaurant.

Wickens-Hawks, 44, worked with her father for close to three years. After she graduated from high school she went to college, and when she came back she knew all she wanted to do was work with her parents in the restaurant.

Over the years, Wickens- Hawks’ siblings have worked in the restaurant along with their nieces and nephews. Every Sunday, her 10-year-old daughter will join her as hostess.

The feeling of family also extends to the staff.

Many of the staff members have worked there for years and have become like family to Wickens Hawks.

“It just feels like a bunch more of my kids there,” Wickens- Hawks said.

During the holidays, Wickens- Hawks and her family, including her father, open their home to staff members who have nowhere else to go.

Wickens-Hawks attributes the restaurant’s longevity to hard work and knowing the regulars by name.

“I step into the restaurant and it’s just me—it feels like home,” Wickens-Hawks said.



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