Holy Toledo! Ohio IHOPs Raided By FBI

As it turns out, there is more to Toledo, Ohio, than a nice zoo, a minor league baseball team, and incredibly sexy women. At least, that's the position the FBI took today, as it raided six Toledo-area International House of Pancakes restaurants, along with a seventh IHOP in Indiana, two homes and a storage locker. All of the searches came as a joint team of the FBI, the IRS, U.S. Immigration and Customs, and Homeland Security put their marks on an investigation that borders on the sublime. According to CBS News, the FBI cannot comment on what, exactly, prompted the searches because the federal search warrants were sealed by a judge. There was also no news as to whether anyone was arrested or if arrests were imminent. A spokesman for IHOP's parent company, DineEquity DIN, told the Evansville Courier and Press the company is cooperating and was told the investigation does not involve terrorism. That's good news, I suppose. I'd hate to imagine the lawsuits IHOP would face if the cooks were mixing uranium in the same bowls they used to mix pancake batter. Patrick Lenow, executive director of corporate communications for DineEquity, parent company of IHOP restaurants and Applebees, told the Toledo Blade that the seven locations are owned by a single franchisee. It would therefore be logical to assume that it is the franchisee, and not IHOP itself, who is under investigation. Lenow would not divulge the name of the franchisee. That's OK, because the Toledo Blade has good investigative journalists and/or has heard of Google. They uncovered the names and reported them in today's edition. "According to public records and the local Better Business Bureau Web site, Tarek Elkafrawi, also known as "Terry Elk," Kamil Madi, and Maazen Kadir have either ownership or management roles in the seven franchises," the Blade reported. Elkafrawi is listed as the president of all seven affected IHOPs. It was his home that was searched yesterday, according to Wood County Sheriff Mark Wasylyshyn. IHOP has already released a statement about the Toledo IHOP raids. "We were informed [yesterday] by one of our franchisees about the events at his restaurants in [Ohio] and [Indiana]," the statement said . "We are working to gather the facts and have been in touch with the federal authorities, although we have not been briefed on the matter. We are cooperating fully with the authorities as we seek to gain an understanding of this situation." For now, it appears investors in DIN are safe, as the investigation apparently is only related to the Toledo man and his franchises. The stock is down, as of story posting, 1.66 percent on the day. As for me...I guess I'll have to go to a local place the next time I'm in Toledo. I've heard good things about Rick's City Diner on Bancroft street just east of the university. At the very least, they're unlikely to get raided by federal officials while I polish off some bacon (with a side of bacon). To comment on this (or any of my columns), visit my user page at Benzinga. Each story has a comment section...and I would love to hear from you!