1980–2006: Founding and going public 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. 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. 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. 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. == Advertising ==