Major chain shuts with seven hours notice leaving location 'abandoned'
Haunting images show the 'abandoned' location of a once popular local restaurant. The beloved casual dining chain Applebee's closed its once bustling location in St. Petersburg, Florida, over the weekend.
A sign on the front door of the building thanks locals for their 'many years of business' and encourages patrons to visit another local Applebee's. Outraged locals revealed on Facebook that the restaurant's employees were only given seven hours notice that they were out of a job. 'The lease for the building was ending and corporate decided the location didn't make enough money to stay open,' one former employee wrote on Reddit. 'The workers got a days notice that they were all losing their jobs.'
Pictures of the closed restaurant showed chairs piled on to bare tables, the sign stripped from the building's exterior and an empty parking lot. Applebee's also closed its University Parkway location in Florida in May . Dine Brands Global, the owner of Applebee's, reported a 2.2 percent sales decline during its first earnings call of the year.
'We are focused on elevating guests' experience, enhancing the menu by focusing on our core products, and better communicating offers through dynamic marketing,' John Peyton (pictured), the company's CEO, said during the company's March earnings call. Once dominant Applebee's has fallen out of favor with consumers, and has been forced to close around 300 locations between 2016 and 2023 .
The restaurant chain went on to shutter up to up to 35 restaurants closed in 2024 . The brand has forecast it will need to close a further 20 to 35 locations this year, The Sun reported. In an effort to boost two of its legacy brands and save on costs, Dine Brands has also consolidated a number of its IHOP and Applebee's locations.
'The dual brand concept is now a core pillar of our development strategy, and we're optimistic about the long-term upside potential,' Peyton said previously. 'On average, we've seen these locations achieve 1.5 to 2 times the revenue compared to a single brand restaurant.' The company said it is planning to open a further 12 to 14 dual brand location in 2025.
Dine is also undertaking a major remodeling program to refresh the brand's tired image. The 'Lookin' Good' scheme is revamping 30 Applebee's locations that Dine took over last November, Restaurant Dive reported.
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