They wanted to create a restaurant that had a neighborhood pub feel to it and could offer friendly service along with quality fare at a lower price than most of their competition.
ApplebeesApplebee's Menu Nutrition Facts
Applebee's is proud to present our guests with nutrition information to make every menu choice a success. Review our restaurant nutritional guide and find essential nutrition info on all of our menu items. Enjoy every bite at Applebee's!
ApplebeesApplebee's Neighborhood Grill + Bar
The place to be in the neighborhood. Our guests know they can always count on us for a delicious and affordable meal, refreshing and fun drinks, and a come-as-you-are welcoming environment.As one of the world's largest casual dining brands, Applebee's is a go-to dining destination in neighborhoods throughout the United States and abroad. From our very first restaurant in Decatur, Georgia to more than 1,500 locations and 11 countries and territories today, Applebee's guests can count on Eatin' Good in the Neighborhood.
Our casual atmosphere and attentive staff will make sure you're eatin' good whenever you step into an Applebee's. Our extensive menu of delicious comfort food is sure to have something for everyone to love.
Our Values
- Providing Value in Abundance
Always delivering 'more'- Treating Everyone Like Our Favorite Neighbor
Serving every guest with genuine hospitality- Celebrating the Unique Flavor of Each Neighborhood
Proudly giving back to the communities we call home- Always Bringing Something New to the Table
With an insatiable appetite for better- Savoring Shared Moments
Across the table and across generations
APPLEBEE'S HISTORY: How one small restaurant became embedded in American culture. 1980 Come on in! Bill and T.J. Palmer open T.J. Applebee's Rx for Edibles & Elixirs in Decatur, GA. 1983 The Palmers sell the Applebee's concept to W.R. Grace and Company. 1986 Call us Applebee's Applebee's Neighborhood Grill + Bar. Abe Gustin and John Hamra open their first Applebee's franchise in Kansas City, MO under the restaurant's new name. 1988 Kansas City's dynamic duo, Abe Gustin and John Hamra, buy Applebee's from W.R. Grace and Company. 1989 Applebee's goes public and opens its 100th restaurant in Nashville, TV. 1992 Here's to beer! Applebee's introduces the now signature Brewtus Glass which keeps beer colder and more flavorful nationwide. 1994 O Canada! Applebee's opens the first restaurant outside of the United States in Winnipeg, MB. 1998 Applebee's opens its 1,000th restaurant in Aurora, CO. 2000 Applebee's introduces a new menu, launches its now iconic tagline Eatin' Good in the Neighborhood, and expands its footprint to Latin America and the Middle East. 2002 Applebee's opens its 1,500th restaurant in LaGrange, GA. In honor of a Kansas City server, The Heidi Fund is created to help Applebee's Team Members in need. 2004 Applebee's introduces Carside To Go pickup service, which includes designated parking spots for guests to wait in while a Team Member brings their order to their car. 2005 Select Applebee's franchisees begin - what is now a longstanding national - partnership with Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation to join fight against pediatric cancer. 2007 Applebee's opens its first location in China. Applebee's Services, Inc. is purchased in November by IHOP Corp., creating the largest full-service restaurant company in the world. 2008 Participating Applebee's locations begin the now longstanding national tradition, of providing a complimentary entree to all veterans and active-duty military on Veterans Day. Applebee's becomes part of Dine Brands Global, Inc. (NYSE: DIN) 2013 Applebee's announces the installation of 100,000 tablets at 1,800+ locations by the end of 2014. 2015 Applebee's is now 100 percent franchise owned. 2016 Applebee's opens its first restaurant in Hawaii - officially bringing Applebee's to all 50 states in America! This is in addition to Puerto Rico, Guam and 13 countries. Applebee's moves its corporate headquarters to Glendale, CA. 2017 Applebee's introduces the DOLLARITA, a $1 margarita as the first Neighborhood Drink of the Month. 2018 Applebee's brings back riblets and depletes the U.S. riblet supply within the first three weeks of the year! Due to a massive sales increase, Applebee's outperforms ever segment of the restaurant industry. 2019 Applebee's launches nationwide delivery and catering, further expanding its To Go business. 2021 Applebee's and franchisee Neighborhood Restaurant Partners establish the Bill Palmer Legacy Scholarship Fund to honor late Applebee's founder, Bill Palmer, and support higher education for Applebee's Team Members and their children. Viral song 'Fancy Like' by Walker Hayes [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zX3IyFUM5xc] takes over internet and is integrated in Applebee's advertising following COVID-19 Pandemic. 2022 Applebee's debuts first To Go Pickup Window. Guests can drive up to a designated window to receive To Go order previously placed online or through the Applebee's Mobile App. 2023 Applebee's moves corporate headquarters to Pasadena, CA. Doin' Good in the Neighborhood
For more than 40 years, Applebee's and its franchisees have been Doin' Good in neighborhoods throughout America. Why? Because we're more than just a neighborhood restaurant. We're your fellow neighbors. Our mission is to serve up the good to all our neighbors by supporting the causes that matter most to them.We're driven to support, honor, and celebrate the very people who make our communities thrive – our local families and young neighbors, our neighbors who themselves serve and enrich the community, and the neighbors we're lucky enough to call Team Members.
Together, Applebee's and its franchisees donate millions of dollars and thousands of volunteer hours to Doin' Good in the Neighborhood each year.
Supporting Families & Youth
Supporting families and young neighbors is a core focus of Applebee's Doin' Good efforts. Our franchisees do this work year-round by hosting fundraisers for local organizations, youth sports teams, and important causes like pediatric cancer.Since 2005, Applebee's and its franchisees together have raised more than $16.3 million for pediatric cancer research in support of its longstanding partnership with Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation.
Supporting Neighbors who Enrich and Serve
Another focus of Applebee's Doin' Good efforts is honoring those who put their neighbors first, enrich our neighborhoods, and serve the country – including teachers, healthcare workers, and more. That's why each year, we welcome all veterans and active-duty military members to join us for a complimentary entree on Veterans Day – and have proudly served more than 11.3 million free meals since 2008.Supporting Neighbors We Call Team
Applebee's Doin' Good efforts also extend to restaurant Team Members who live in the communities where they work. We invest in the causes they care about and in their futures through programs like the Bill Palmer Legacy Scholarship Fund, which is awarded to Team Members and their children each year to provide access to continued learning. Since 2021, the Bill Palmer Legacy Scholarship Fund has awarded nearly $750,000 to students pursuing higher education.
ApplebeesGood Food, Good People.
That philosophy lives on in each and every Applebee's restaurant across North America and around the world.
WIKIPEDIAApplebee's Restaurants LLC
American company that develops, franchises, and operates the Applebee's Neighborhood Grill + Bar restaurant chain. The Applebee's concept focuses on casual dining, with mainstream American dishes such as salads, chicken, pasta, burgers, and "riblets" (Applebee's signature dish).The Applebee's chain was founded by Bill and T. J. Palmer in July 1980. Their vision was "to create a restaurant that had a neighborhood pub feel to it and could offer friendly service along with quality fare at a lower price than most of their competition."
- The name “Appleby” was their first choice for this concept, but they found that it had already been registered. They also considered "Cinnamon's" and "Pepper's" before arriving at Applebee's.
- They opened their first location on November 19, 1980 in Decatur, Georgia, at the time named T.J. Applebee's Rx for Edibles & Elixirs.
- They opened a second location outside of Atlanta, Georgia, a few years later, and sold the company to W. R. Grace and Company in May 1983. As part of the transaction, Bill Palmer was named president of the Applebee's Division, an indirect subsidiary of W. R. Grace and Company. In that capacity, Palmer guided the operation from its entrepreneurial beginnings to a full-fledged franchise system. He became an Applebee's franchisee in 1985. Bill Palmer died in 2020.
- In 1986, the name of the concept was changed to Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar.
- In 1988, Applebee's International, Inc., became the restaurant chain's franchiser when Kansas City franchisees Abe Gustin and John Hamra purchased the rights to the Applebee's concept from W. R. Grace.
- In 1989, Applebee's opened their 100th restaurant in Nashville, Tennessee.
- In the 1990s, Applebee's became one of the largest sit-down restaurant chains in the United States, and it began trading publicly in November 1991.
- In 1998, Applebee's opened its 1000th restaurant.
- On July 16, 2007, IHOP Corp. announced that it agreed to buy Applebee's International for about $2.1 billion. Applebee's shareholders would receive $25.50 in cash per share, representing a 4.6% premium to the closing price on July 13, 2007. The acquisition was completed on November 29, 2007, after which IHOP Corp. was renamed Dine Equity. The combined company became the largest full-service restaurant company in the world, with more than 3,250 locations. A major goal for the new ownership was to revitalize the chain, as well as shift towards a franchise model for the majority of its locations.
- In 2013, the chain faced an uproar on the Internet after firing a waitress who posted a picture of a customer's receipt that had a rude note written on it objecting to a required gratuity, and then poorly handling their response to the incident.
- On August 11, 2017, DineEquity announced that Applebee's would close between 105 and 135 locations by the end of the year. Same-store sales decreased 7% in the previous quarter.
- In-late 2017, Applebee's began to place an increased focus on promotions involving low-cost cocktails, including a $1 margarita promotion dubbed the "Dollarita" in October, and $1 Long Island iced tea (promoted as "L.I.T.s") in December. The drinks would serve as a loss leader, with customers subsequently upsold towards higher-priced food products. Despite hesitation by some franchisees to participate, the promotions were associated with a major increase in traffic at some locations, and prompted the chain to offer similar promotions later on. Dine Brands' new CEO Steve Joyce credited the promotions with having helped influence a major financial turnaround at the company, noting that almost all customers who ordered one also ordered food, and that some customers also moved towards the other cocktails on its menu.
- As of December 31, 2019, there were 1,787 restaurants operating system-wide in the United States and 15 other countries, including 69 that are company owned and 1,718 that are franchised. United States locations have steadily declined in recent years and as of December 26, 2022, there were 1,586 locations.
In March 2024, Dine Brands announced it was exploring Applebee's-IHOP dual-branded restaurants that might launch within 12-24 months, after the successful introduction of prototypes in international markets. CEO John Peyton said the restaurants were the same size as standalone restaurants of each brand but generated twice the revenue.
Alex'sApplebee's
Partnering with Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation to end childhood cancer since 2005. Each year Applebee's restaurants become lemonade stands and invite their guests and neighbors to join the fight by participating in local activations and donating in a variety of ways.To date, Applebee's is proud to have raised more than $16 million to fund research and bring hope to families fighting childhood cancer.
Partner Since 2005
MashedApplebee's Bills Itself as a Neighborhood Bar and Grill
With more than a thousand locations worldwide, chances are there's one in a neighborhood near you. The restaurant chain is ubiquitous enough to have appeared in movies like Talladega Nights, Couple's Retreat, Hall Pass, and Why Him; it's been referenced in the lyrics of songs by artists like Drake, Brad Paisley, and DJ Jazzy Jeff; and it's even welcomed celebrity diners, like the members of band LMFAO, to its tables.But there's still a lot you might not know about Applebee's. The company is a lot older than you might think, and from name changes to major acquisitions, it's gone through a lot of changes over the years.
You may think of it as just another restaurant, but as with most businesses, there's always more to the story. What is Club Applebee's? How safe is the food at Applebee's? And what's the deal with the Dollarita? The answers to these questions tell the story of a restaurant chain that's managed to find success during several tumultuous decades, but also faced some troubling times.
This is the untold truth of Applebee's.
- Applebee's has been open for 40 years
- There are a lot more Applebee's locations than you think
Applebee's strives to be a neighborhood restaurant, and chances are there's one near your neighborhood. That's because there are now nearly 2,000 Applebee's locations across the country and worldwide.- IHOP bought Applebee's for $2.1 billion
Applebee's has a long acquisition and sales history. They're no stranger to buying up other chains - the company has, over time, owned smaller chains (like Rio Bravo Cantina), sold those smaller chains (Rio Bravo was sold to Chevy's in 1999), and been sold themselves.But the biggest sale in the company's history occurred in 2007, when it was purchased by IHOP Corp. for $2.1 billion. The two restaurants together became the largest full-service restaurant company in the world. After the sale, IHOP Corp. changed its name to DineEquity, Inc., which is today known as Dine Brands Global, Inc. The acquisition of Applebee's by IHOP is considered to be one of the biggest restaurant sales of the past 20 years.
- Some Applebee's turn into wild night clubs after 10 pm
Applebee's is open late, and their late-night happy hour is quite the draw. But in some cities in Florida, there's an even more exciting reason to head to your neighborhood bar and grill – Club Applebee's, or Club 'Bee's for short.- Applebee's doesn't share any of their recipes
The chain is notorious for keeping their recipes top-secret. Any Applebee's recipes you see posted online are most likely fakes, or merely attempts from fans to make their favorite dishes at home.- Applebee's has won awards for being a great employer
- Applebee's sources humane eggs and pork
- The name Applebee's was picked out of a phone book
How does one go about naming a restaurant? For Bill and TJ Palmer, the brains behind Applebee's, the answer was simple - flip through a phone book.Initially, they wanted to name their restaurant Appleby, which was a name they found in the phone book. However, that name they chose had actually been copyrighted just two weeks prior. Other names they considered included Cinnamon's and Pepper's, but both of those had already been taken by other restaurants, too. Instead, they settled on a slightly modified version of their original favorite: Applebee's.
Before the chain went simply by Applebee's, however, it had a much longer name: T.J. Applebee's Rx for Edibles & Elixirs. It was originally decorated with an old-time drugstore theme, before the restaurant eventually pivoted to its current neighborhood bar and grill vibe.
When Bill and his wife TJ had a falling out, they sold the business to W.R Grace and Co., and that company then changed the restaurant's name to Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar in 1986, six years after the first T.J. Applebee's Rx for Edibles & Elixirs opened.
1000logosT.J. Applebee's Rx for Edibles and Elixirs
The first Applebees logo, which appeared in 1980, featured the company's original name, T.J. Applebee's Rx for Edibles and Elixirs. By 1986, it was replaced by a more appealing design sporting the red apple that has been the logotype's visual center ever since.
The very first logo for a famous restaurant chain was introduced in 1980, featured a stylized green lettering pen closed in a red and white geometric frame, with the white “For Edibles & Elixirs” tagline in all capitals of a traditional sans-serif typeface tagline cup placed on a thick bottom part of the framing.
The redesign of 1983 brought the graphical symbol, which became iconic throughout the years - a red apple placed slightly diagonally over a dark green banner with a white stylized inscription on it. The banner featured a horizontally stretched rectangular shape with rounded angles, and a thick black and white outline.
In 2007, the logotype was extensively overhauled. A new typeface was introduced, while the apple was modified and moved to the right. The new color scheme looked by far brighter than the previous one, especially the red outline, which created an eye-catching contrast with the leaf. This version of the logo looked very close to that of the Apple company. One could notice similarities not only in the shapes and the position of the leaf and the apple, but even in the typeface. However, the two companies seem to have had no legal issues on the topic.
Their font looks playful and appealing. It features a distinctive “A” with an elongated right end.