Applebee's

Applebee's Restaurants LLC. is an 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). History 1980–2006: Founding and going public The Applebee's chain was founded by Bill and T. J. Palmer in 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 in Atlanta, 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 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.