Photo by staceyviera.

The long-awaited IHOP, located inside the DCUSA development in Columbia Heights, has officially opened for business. (And yes, we do believe that the easy availability of pancakes at any hour is one of the few acceptable reasons to use all caps in a tweet.)

We spoke with Tyoka Jackson, the owner of the IHOP, who told us that “for the last hour and a half, we’ve been running about 80-85 percent capacity — which is good for a soft opening.” (Things were moving so briskly this morning that Jackson had to put us on hold to take a to-go order. “Business is business!” he exclaimed joyfully.) The restaurant opened at around 8 this morning, and things seem to be going swimmingly so far. “Our folks are happy,” Jackson said of his employees’ performance so far. “They are making the customers happy.” Jackson also emphasized that 95 percent of the restaurant’s employees are D.C. residents.

But those looking forward to enjoying a Rooty Tooty Fresh and Fruity as their late-night, post-bar meal will have to wait for a little bit: the restaurant won’t be open 24/7 until November 26 — at which point, as Jackson put it, “we’ll never close again.” Until Thanksgiving Day, the IHOP will operate between 7 a.m. – 11 p.m.