Applebee's - The Rise and Fall...And Rise Again

Applebee's is among the world's largest casual dining restaurants. This video takes a look at how the chain has progressed over the years while attempting to provide reason behind their various rises and falls.

To submit ideas and vote on future topics:

A very special thanks to this wonderful group of Patrons:
Tyrone Cowan, Ken, Ronnie Cheng, Eric Shapley, PleaseUseWisely, Michael Sawyer, Astra, Cervidian, Brooks Sparling, Brian Smith, Huperzia Selago, Ahmad, Jesse Long, Robert T Kirton, milkshake, Brandon L, Jon, Christian & Penny Gray, Emerald Computers – Jason Dragon, Dylan Kinnard, Brett Walton, Dominique Dugas, Nicholas Murphy, Peter Wesselius, Tristan Williams, Meow Wolf, Amy Westacott, MyNameIsKir, Jimmy1985, Stewart Tritapoe, Sondre Grimsmo Sinnes, Chris Lion-Transler, Sirpoptart.

Company Declines:
______________________________

[JoeyAwesome]

The one and only time I went to Applebee’s. There was a fire in the kitchen and we got our food for free

[CZsWorld]

Company Man, why do these companies not test their changes on a small group of their restaurants to see if it works before rolling out nationwide?

[noah_farmer]

I was a server at Applebee’s for a year or so. The head chef “Mike” was so nice and always so quiet! Except when the food was done he would always beep so loudly

[Qhaapad]

Applebee's to me was one of those resturants where nobody hated it, but it wasn't anyone's favorite either.

[tawon]

Applebee’s, TGIFridays, Ruby Tuesday & Chilies are pretty much the same thing to me 🤷‍♂️

[adelaide]

The best thing about applebee’s is the late night half-off appetizers. I’m pretty sure my local applebee’s stayed in business just from the sheer amount of high schoolers who went to get “halfies” (that was our term for it) after football games, marching band practices, and drama productions

[knfzn]

When I was a kid Applebees used to garnish adult drinks with little swords they would stab through cherries, olives, etc. I would always ask the waitress for one and I would put them on my GI Joes and other action figures

[erics]

"Applebee's, for when there's a 45 minute wait at Outback"
-some comic

[jonathanstubbs]

You know what I appreciate? Company man is always unbiased. Even companies that have a poor reputation, he always tells their stories well.

[evan]

In college, i remember they had a drink special that was so cheap, city officials had to shut it down because of the amount of fights they had to respond to... not even kidding lol

[flightTime]

The problem with Applebee’s for me is that the portions are small, prices are high, and the quality tends to be mediocre.

[randombrokeperson]

I just want to say that those tacos they have as appetizers are ADDICTING.

[Rob_Thorsman]

"T.J. Applebee's Rx for Edibles and Elixirs" is the stupidest name I have ever heard.

[Arizona-exyt]

The rise: Eating there for the first time.
The fall: Getting diarrhea from their food
The rise again: Forgetting about the diarrhea many years later and returning.
Applebee's business model in a nutshell.

[talltayls]

I am a cook for an Applebee’s in Washington State. (Ironically, i also worked at an IHOP as a dishwasher in one of my first kitchen jobs lol) but anyways, I have been at Applebee’s for 4 years-and some change, and I must say, despite having our lobbies & bars closed twice from the Covid shutdowns, this restaurant is now currently operating at probably the busiest I have ever seen. As a cook, it can get pretty rough, but basically (if I had to guess) the quaratine’s and shutdowns gave a “rise” to these to-go services, like grubhub, door-dash, etc. and more & more people became aware of their existance, so ultimately started using these services. And I can tell you personally, the business we get from JUST THE TO-GO SERVICES could potentially be enough to be its own business lol. Let alone the in-house customers we have once again after re-opening the lobbies & bars. Business is absolutely insane currently. Now if only the corporate management style would stop fucking us cooks by being so strict on labor, sending cooks home to clock-off when we could still very much be using the extra help lol

AND FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, if you must feed the whole family dinner on a particular night by ordering out, or going out, PLEASE do not wait until its within the final 1 hour of the operating hours. No corporate restaurant is going to be staffed beyond the bare min. skeleton crew by that time, and multiples of families placing huge orders that late just REAALLY fucks the poor soul’s that might be on the clock still. It really sucks, trust me. Eat/order dinner at a somewhat decent time.

[iced_latteZ]

Applebees was always perfect for when i was in college. People that were over 21 could still get a drink and your friends that were under could still get in. I also lived off of half price apps for awhile

[jaspertang]

I love their food when I was little, but when I revisited them, it was horrible. The room feels moist, the cheese in their onion soup tastes like gum, and the food like pasta is grainy and bland. My local Applebee's got replaced by HaiDiLao

[Bigcheefpacka]

Applebee’s: When you’re too lazy to microwave your own food

[FNHot]

I love when restaurants have all kinds of random shit glued to the walls, like newspapers, celebrity photos, random tools, and records, in an attempt to make me feel "at home". What kind of chaotic dump do you think I live in?

[SenorWoods]

Do the decline of Ovation Brands. The company that owned HomeTown Buffet, Old Country Buffet, Ryan's, etc