UNITED STATES
                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D.C. 20549

                                    FORM 8-K


                                 Current Report




                PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES
                              EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934



Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported)       January 5, 2004
                                                --------------------------------

Commission File Number:    000-17962


                         Applebee's International, Inc.
              ----------------------------------------------------
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

            Delaware                                      43-1461763
  ----------------------------              ------------------------------------
  (State or other jurisdiction of           (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)
   incorporation or organization)

          4551 W. 107th Street, Suite 100, Overland Park, Kansas 66207
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
              (Address of principal executive offices and zip code)

                                 (913) 967-4000
              ----------------------------------------------------
              (Registrant's telephone number, including area code)


                                      None
          -------------------------------------------------------------
          (Former name or former address, if changed since last report)


<PAGE>


Item 5.           Other Events

On January 5, 2004,  Applebee's  International,  Inc. (the  "Company")  issued a
press  release  entitled  "Applebee's  International  Names Dave Goebel as Chief
Operating Officer; Steve Lumpkin appointed to Board of Directors;  John Cywinski
promoted to Executive Vice President". The press release is included below.


CONTACTS:
Laurie Ellison, Director of Communications, (913) 967-2718
Carol DiRaimo, Executive Director of Investor Relations, (913) 967-4109

     Applebee's International Names Dave Goebel as Chief Operating Officer;
                 Steve Lumpkin appointed to Board of Directors;
               John Cywinski promoted to Executive Vice President

OVERLAND PARK,  KAN.,  Jan. 5, 2004 - Applebee's  International,  Inc.  (Nasdaq:
APPB) today  announced the promotion of Dave Goebel to chief  operating  officer
(COO),  effective  immediately.  Since last year, Goebel has served as executive
vice  president of operations for  Applebee's  International,  Inc., the world's
largest casual dining concept.

In addition to approving Goebel's  promotion,  the Applebee's board of directors
appointed Steve Lumpkin,  Applebee's chief financial officer, to an open seat on
the board. With Lumpkin's appointment, the board now has seven outside directors
and two  inside  directors,  the other  inside  director  being  Lloyd L.  Hill,
chairman  and chief  executive  officer.  Lumpkin will stand for election at the
annual stockholders' meeting in May 2004 and, if elected, will serve two years.

The board also approved the promotion of John Cywinski, chief marketing officer,
to executive vice president.

"For  several  years,  we  have  been  relentless  in our  pursuit  of the  most
disciplined, service-oriented and results-driven professionals in our industry,"
Hill said. "We are now realizing the fruits of those labors.  Applebee's is rich
with internal  talent and depth.  The strength and  continuity in our leadership
team has helped us stay focused on our  business  and drive the stellar  results
we've seen over the past year."

As COO, Goebel will be responsible for all aspects of restaurant  operations for
more than 1,500 domestic Applebee's  restaurants,  including company operations,
franchise operations,  supply chain management and restaurant  development.  The
company  estimates  a  potential  of at least  2,300  restaurants  in the United
States.  Applebee's  development pace is unrivaled in the casual dining segment;
in 2003, Applebee's opened 100 new restaurants, marking the eleventh consecutive
year the company has opened 100 or more new restaurants.

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<PAGE>
Goebel named COO, add one


Goebel joined  Applebee's in February 2001 as senior vice president of franchise
operations.  He was  promoted to  executive  vice  president  of  operations  in
December  2002.  Prior to  Applebee's,  Goebel  had  nearly 30 years of  general
management  experience,  22 of  which  were  in  the  restaurant  business.  His
entrepreneurial spirit twice led him to build his own business,  complemented by
tenure as an officer in several large  foodservice  organizations,  primarily in
operations and development.

"Dave Goebel knows  operations  from the ground up and has earned the respect of
both our company and franchise  operators,  as well as our support  staff," Hill
said.  "What  makes Dave unique is that he  encourages  and  inspires  others to
achieve both personal and professional growth through hard work,  uncompromising
integrity  and true  passion for  service.  I believe it is his type of uncommon
leadership that can take an organization from good to great."

A graduate of the  University of Notre Dame,  Goebel did  post-graduate  work at
Ohio State University. He has been married to his wife, Jan, for 29 years and is
the father of six children. He coaches sports and is a board member and chair of
two not-for-profit organizations.

"The past two years  have been a period of  remarkable  growth and  success  for
Applebee's,"  Goebel  said.  "I  believe  we  can  further  extend  our  segment
leadership by continuing our pursuit of operational excellence and by delivering
superior, passionate service to every guest on every visit."

Lumpkin  joined  Applebee's  in May 1995 as vice  president  and was promoted to
executive vice president of strategic development in 1998, and chief development
officer in 2001.  In January  2002,  he was named chief  financial  officer.  In
addition to leading the company's financial  operations,  Lumpkin is responsible
for strategic  planning,  new growth  development,  legal,  risk  management and
investor relations.

Cywinski joined Applebee's in July 2001. Prior to joining  Applebee's,  Cywinski
served as vice president of brand strategy for McDonald's Corporation; president
of Buena  Vista  Pictures  Marketing,  the motion  picture  division of the Walt
Disney  Company;   and  vice  president  of  U.S.   marketing  for  Burger  King
Corporation. He began his career with The Leo Burnett Advertising Agency.

As executive  vice  president and chief  marketing  officer,  Cywinski leads the
company's advertising,  marketing,  brand initiatives,  and menu development and
innovation.  The company's  effective  media  campaigns,  which continue to help
drive traffic and sales,  are credited to Cywinski's  innovation and creativity.
In the area of menu  development,  over the past two years, more than 75 percent
of the Applebee's menu is either new or improved.

                                       3
<PAGE>

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. As of Dec. 28, 2003,
there were 1,585 Applebee's  restaurants  operating system-wide in 49 states and
nine international counties.  Additional information on Applebee's International
can be found at the company's website (www.applebees.com).





                                   SIGNATURES


Pursuant  to the  requirements  of the  Securities  Exchange  Act of  1934,  the
registrant  has duly  caused  this  report  to be  signed  on its  behalf by the
undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

                                              APPLEBEE'S INTERNATIONAL, INC.
                                              (Registrant)


Date:     January 5, 2004               By:/s/ Steven K. Lumpkin
         ---------------------                 -----------------------
                                               Steven K. Lumpkin
                                               Executive Vice President and
                                               Chief Financial Officer



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