Applebee's restaurant in Sarasota just closed — same day a local Chili's shuttered
While one last basket of razor-thin, heavily salted tortilla chips and red salsa was being served at the Chili's on South Tamiami Trail in Sarasota, someone eight miles away at the Applebee's on University Parkway was digging into their final order of boneless wings glazed in that sweet and tangy honey barbecue sauce.
Yes, two titans of the American restaurant chain world shuttered Sarasota-Manatee locations this week. As previously reported, the Chili's Bar & Grill near Trader Joe's permanently closed Monday, May 19. The Herald-Tribune has since confirmed that the Applebee's Neighborhood Grill + Bar at 3255 University Parkway also closed for good that same day, according to a guest relations specialist who verified the news on Tuesday, May 20.
After nearly 40 years, a Sarasota Chili's restaurant has closed
Ticket Newsletter: Sign up to receive restaurant news, reviews, and fun things to do every Friday
The Applebee's guest relations specialist declined to provide a reason for the closure or comment on what it might mean for the restaurant chain's other nearby locations. However, the Applebee's website shows that several Sarasota-Manatee locations remain open, including:
5550 Fruitville Road, Sarasota
5490 Clark Road, Sarasota
4329 S. Tamiami Trail, Venice
4301 Cortez Road, Bradenton
4638 State Road 64 E., Bradenton
5908 18th St. E., Ellenton
17500 Tamiami Trail, North Port
Nearly a decade ago, Applebee's closed its most prominent Sarasota location — the one downtown in the Sarasota Main Plaza, adjacent to the movie theater on Main Street.
Sarasota Main Plaza opened in 1997 with Applebee's — at 1991 Main St. — as one of its original restaurants. Today, the spot is occupied by the high-end apartment complex Aster & Links, with the movie theater still operating next door.
Chili's Grill & Bar was founded in Texas in 1975 and is currently owned and operated by Dallas-based Brinker International. The Chili's that recently closed at 4131 S. Tamiami Trail in Sarasota opened in the mid-1980s, while the Applebee's that closed this week at 3255 University Parkway in Manatee County was open since at least 1999, when it first appears in Herald-Tribune archives. Applebee's was founded in 1980 in Atlanta.
There's no indication that these Sarasota-Manatee Applebee's and Chili's closures are part of a companywide initiative by the respective chains — just isolated incidents that happened to occur eight miles apart.
Contributing: Jimmy Geurts, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Wade Tatangelo is Ticket Editor for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and Florida Regional Dining and Entertainment Editor for the USA TODAY Network. Follow him on Facebook, Instagram, and X. He can be reached by email at wade.tatangelo@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism by subscribing.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Applebee's restaurant in Sarasota just closed — here's what we know
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
29 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Commerce Secretary Lutnick outlines fast pace for U.S.-India trade talks under Trump's tariff approach
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, speaking at the 2025 U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF), outlined the future of U.S.-India trade ties, urging deeper economic cooperation in line with President Trump's tariff-driven push. "Earlier countries get a better deal. That's the way it is," Lutnick remarked during his keynote address at the USISPF on Monday in Washington D.C. "Those who come in, you know, July 4th to July 9th, there's just going to be a pile. But those who are earlier—and I think India's trying hard to be one of the earlier countries, which I appreciate." The commerce secretary acknowledged the unusually rapid timeline the administration is pursuing in contrast to traditional multi-year negotiations. "These kinds of deals used to take 2 or 3 years, and we're trying to get them done in a month, which is, you know, just not the ordinary DNA of trading relationships between countries," he said. India Has Been Open To Mkaing Big Trade Progress, Kevin Hassett Says Lutnick argued that the administration is not advocating for sweeping concessions from India, but "reasonable access to the markets of India." Read On The Fox Business App "We would like our businesses to have reasonable access to the markets of India," he said. "Now, it's not going to be everything and it's not going to be everywhere. But we want to have the trade deficit reduced." "Now in exchange for that, what India is going to want is they're going to get certain key markets that they are going to want to make sure that they have special access to the American marketplace," he said. "And so that's the tradeoff." He said that ongoing talks between India and the U.S. are in a "very good place." "We've managed, I think, to be in a very, very good place, and you should expect a deal between the United States and India in the not-too-distant future, because I think we found a place that really works for both countries," he said. In a Monday evening TruthSocial post, Trump doubled down on his core trade doctrine: "If other Countries are allowed to use Tariffs against us, and we're not allowed to counter them, quickly and nimbly, with Tariffs against them, our Country doesn't have, even a small chance, of Economic survival." President Trump, India's Modi To Tackle Trade, Tariff Tensions At High-stakes Meeting In April, Trump imposed a 27% reciprocal tariff on most Indian exports to pressure India into lowering its tariffs. While strategic sectors like pharmaceuticals were exempt, industries such as textiles and machinery were affected. Click Here To Read More On Fox Business India has since avoided retaliation, opting instead to negotiate with the administration to ease the article source: Commerce Secretary Lutnick outlines fast pace for U.S.-India trade talks under Trump's tariff approach Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Judge dismisses California's lawsuit over Trump tariffs, citing jurisdiction issue
SACRAMENTO, California — A U.S. District Court judge on Monday dismissed California officials' lawsuit over President Donald Trump's tariffs, concluding the case belongs in an out-of-state court that specializes in trade disputes. The ruling — separate from a pair of high-profile rulings in other courts last week — partially sides with the Trump administration, which argued the case belongs in the New York-based U.S. Court of International Trade rather than the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, where Gov. Gavin Newsom and state Attorney General Rob Bonta earlier filed their case. But Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley dismissed the case outright rather than immediately transfer it to the trade court, as Trump's attorneys had requested. By doing so, she granted the state's request to leave a path open for California to appeal the ruling to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, a famously liberal-leaning bench. Still, Scott Corley's decision is a blow to California officials who had hoped the district court would rule on the legality of Trump's unilateral tariffs. Last week, a D.C. District Court judge went the opposite direction and invalidated Trump's tariffs, ruling in favor of two toy-import companies. The trade court also struck down Trump's tariffs last week, although his taxes on imports have largely been left in place while federal litigation plays out. Scott Corley's ruling against California was expected. She had previously signaled that her San Francisco court likely didn't have jurisdiction in the case, noting the trade court has authority over tariff cases — which was designed to prevent a patchwork of tariffs rulings in federal district courts. California in April became the first state to sue Trump over his so-called 'Liberation Day' tariffs, claiming the president has no authority to unilaterally tax imports under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Trump has invoked tariffs without congressional approval by claiming the country faces a national emergency due to its trade deficits with other countries. Representatives for Newsom and Bonta didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. While Scott Corley's ruling is a setback for the state, California officials joined Democratic leaders across the country last week in celebrating the pair of federal court rulings that determined Trump had overstepped his executive powers. 'It's raining tacos today,' Newsom said on the MeidasTouch Podcast on Thursday, an apparent reference to the TACO acronym that Wall Street investors have used to refer to whiplash over Trump's see-sawing import taxes. The president has bristled at the name, which stands for 'Trump always chickens out.'
Politico
an hour ago
- Politico
Judge dismisses California's lawsuit over Trump tariffs, citing jurisdiction issue
SACRAMENTO, California — A U.S. District Court judge on Monday dismissed California officials' lawsuit over President Donald Trump's tariffs, concluding the case belongs in an out-of-state court that specializes in trade disputes. The ruling — separate from a pair of high-profile rulings in other courts last week — partially sides with the Trump administration, which argued the case belongs in the New York-based U.S. Court of International Trade rather than the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, where Gov. Gavin Newsom and state Attorney General Rob Bonta earlier filed their case. But Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley dismissed the case outright rather than immediately transfer it to the trade court, as Trump's attorneys had requested. By doing so, she granted the state's request to leave a path open for California to appeal the ruling to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, a famously liberal-leaning bench. Still, Scott Corley's decision is a blow to California officials who had hoped the district court would rule on the legality of Trump's unilateral tariffs. Last week, a D.C. District Court judge went the opposite direction and invalidated Trump's tariffs, ruling in favor of two toy-import companies. The trade court also struck down Trump's tariffs last week, although his taxes on imports have largely been left in place while federal litigation plays out. Scott Corley's ruling against California was expected. She had previously signaled that her San Francisco court likely didn't have jurisdiction in the case, noting the trade court has authority over tariff cases — which was designed to prevent a patchwork of tariffs rulings in federal district courts. California in April became the first state to sue Trump over his so-called 'Liberation Day' tariffs, claiming the president has no authority to unilaterally tax imports under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Trump has invoked tariffs without congressional approval by claiming the country faces a national emergency due to its trade deficits with other countries. Representatives for Newsom and Bonta didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. While Scott Corley's ruling is a setback for the state, California officials joined Democratic leaders across the country last week in celebrating the pair of federal court rulings that determined Trump had overstepped his executive powers. 'It's raining tacos today,' Newsom said on the MeidasTouch Podcast on Thursday, an apparent reference to the TACO acronym that Wall Street investors have used to refer to whiplash over Trump's see-sawing import taxes. The president has bristled at the name, which stands for 'Trump always chickens out.'
