Fifty-six years after the company was founded as the International House of Pancakes in Toluca Lake, Calif., IHOP restaurants around the nation will celebrate on July 8 by offering guests a short stack of buttermilk pancakes — still the most popular item on the menu after 56 years — for 56 cents from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The price is less than the original cost of 60 cents when the first IHOP restaurant opened its doors in 1958.

“The 56th anniversary celebration is about more than just an incredible milestone in our history,” said Julia Stewart, chairman and chief executive officer of DineEquity Inc., and interim president of International House of Pancakes. “It is also a chance to celebrate and thank our wonderful guests who have made our brand part of their lives all these years.”

Some fun facts about IHOP through the years:

• The acronym “IHOP” was introduced 15 years after the first restaurant opened.
• The first IHOP outside of the United States opened in 1969 in Canada.
• Both buttermilk pancakes and chocolate chip pancakes have been on IHOP’s menu since the beginning.
• IHOP serves more than 700 million pancakes each year.
• More than 100 million cups of coffee are served at IHOP locations every year.