Applebee’s

Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill + Bar is a major U.S. casual dining brand known for approachable, family‑friendly restaurants with full bars, table service, and a menu centered on familiar American dishes. The chain is built around franchised locations that aim to function as local gathering spots, with an emphasis on value, everyday occasions, and late‑night visits.

The concept began in 1980, when Bill and T.J. Palmer opened the first restaurant in Decatur, Georgia under the original name T.J. Applebee’s Rx for Edibles & Elixirs. Through the 1980s and 1990s, Applebee’s grew rapidly through franchising and became a fixture in suburban retail corridors, especially in strip centers and freestanding pad sites. A pivotal milestone came in 2007, when IHOP Corp. acquired Applebee’s International and later combined the two brands under a new parent, Dine Brands Global, Inc. That transaction established Applebee’s as a central part of a larger, publicly traded restaurant platform alongside IHOP.

Today Applebee’s is one of the two primary brands within Dine Brands Global and remains a heavily franchised system, with franchise owners operating virtually all locations while the corporate team concentrates on brand positioning, marketing, menu development, and franchise support. As of December 2024, Applebee’s operates approximately 1,501 restaurants, primarily in the United States, within a wider Dine Brands portfolio that spans thousands of restaurants across multiple countries.

Over roughly the past five years, the brand has shifted from aggressive net new unit growth toward a more selective, returns‑focused real estate strategy. In the U.S., system sales have leaned more on same‑store sales gains, marketing around value platforms, and off‑premises channels than on expanding the store base. Franchisees and corporate teams have prioritized portfolio quality, emphasizing remodel programs, relocations, and conversions that have shown measurable sales lifts and stronger individual asset performance. Underperforming sites have been pruned while better trade areas and improved boxes are pursued.

A notable evolution during this recent period is Applebee’s role in Dine Brands’ dual‑branded IHOP/Applebee’s restaurant format. This model places both concepts in a single building with shared back‑of‑house operations and cross‑trained staff, allowing the brands to cover multiple dayparts efficiently. By the end of 2024, there were 18 dual‑branded restaurants across seven international markets, and Dine Brands had outlined plans to open 23 more in 2025, taking the total to 41 locations and including the first U.S. combo in Seguin, Texas. Management commentary has pointed to a development pipeline targeting roughly 50 additional dual‑branded openings in 2026, signaling a growing role for this format domestically and abroad.

Internationally, Applebee’s has been extending its reach through master franchise and development agreements, with activity in markets such as Mexico, Canada, Costa Rica, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and other parts of the Middle East and Latin America. These efforts mirror the broader strategy of building the brand in select, high‑priority markets rather than pursuing blanket coverage.

For landlords, brokers, and developers, Applebee’s represents a mature, nationally recognized casual dining tenant backed by a public company and an experienced franchise network. The brand has a long operating history in freestanding and shopping center environments and now brings a mix of traditional restaurants, inline and outparcel locations, conversions, and an emerging dual‑brand IHOP/Applebee’s format. Current activity is concentrated in strategic relocations, remodels, conversions, and targeted new developments in cooperation with seasoned franchise operators and Dine Brands’ real estate and development teams, rather than large‑scale, speculative rollouts.