Applebee's Celebrates 1,500th Restaurant Opening by Serving Those Who Serve Our Neighborhoods

Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar today will mark the opening of its 1,500th neighborhood Restaurant by serving free lunches to local fire and police officers at participating restaurants across the country. An estimated 15,000 uniformed officers are participating as honorary guests for the celebration.

Since the first Applebee's opened in Atlanta, Ga., in 1980, Applebee's restaurants have established a long tradition of honoring local fire and police departments through displays of photographs and memorabilia.

"Being a good neighbor is very important to us at Applebee's," said Lloyd Hill, chairman and CEO of Applebee's International, Inc. "That's why we are especially pleased to celebrate this milestone event with fire and police departments across the country. These uniformed men and women are the best of neighbors to us all, and we are honored to have them as our guests today."

With 1,500 restaurants in 49 states and eight countries, Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar is the largest casual dining concept in the world. The honorary 1,500th restaurant is in LaGrange, Ga. It is owned and operated by Bill Palmer, the founder of the first Applebee's restaurant in Atlanta and a current Applebee's franchisee.

In 1980, Bill and T.J. Palmer took a second mortgage on their home and borrowed $50,000 to open the first Applebee's restaurant. They built a second one in 1982 and in 1983, to fulfill a dream of nationwide expansion, they sold the Applebee's concept to W.R. Grace and Co. In 1988, Applebee's International, Inc. became the restaurant chain's franchisor when franchisees Abe Gustin and John Hamra purchased the rights to the Applebee's concept from W.R. Grace and Co. At the time, there were 54 Applebee's restaurants.

"It took 10 years to open the first 100 restaurants," Palmer said. "In contrast, for the past 10 years, from 1993 to 2002, Applebee's has opened at least 100 restaurants every year. The rate of growth is unprecedented in the casual dining industry. And, with an estimated domestic potential of at least 2,300 restaurants, I see no signs of Applebee's slowing down!"

Applebee's International, Inc. ended 2002 with total system-wide sales in excess of $3.2 billion, a 10.9 percent increase over 2001 sales. According to Nation's Restaurant News, Applebee's is the ninth largest restaurant chain in U.S. system-wide sales. Moreover, according to the same report, within the casual dining segment, Applebee's is first in sales, first in market share and first in number of units.

Applebee's International, Inc., headquartered in Overland Park, Kan., develops, Franchises and operates restaurants under the Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar brand, the largest casual dining concept in the world. Currently, there are 1,500 Applebee's restaurants operating system-wide in 49 states and eight international countries.