CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO
                  SECTION 302 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002


I, Lloyd L. Hill,  certify that:
1.  I  have  reviewed  this   quarterly   report  on  Form  10-Q  of  Applebee's
    International, Inc.;
2.  Based on my knowledge,  this report does not contain any untrue statement of
    a  material  fact or omit to state a  material  fact  necessary  to make the
    statements made, in light of the  circumstances  under which such statements
    were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;
3.  Based  on my  knowledge,  the  financial  statements,  and  other  financial
    information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects
    the  financial  condition,  results  of  operations  and  cash  flows of the
    registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;
4.  The  registrant's  other  certifying  officer  and  I  are  responsible  for
    establishing and maintaining  disclosure controls and procedures (as defined
    in Exchange Act Rules  13a-15(e) and  15d-15(e))  for the  registrant and we
    have:
       (a)    Designed such disclosure  controls and procedures,  or caused such
              disclosure  controls  and  procedures  to be  designed  under  our
              supervision,  to ensure that material  information relating to the
              registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known
              to us by others  within those  entities,  particularly  during the
              period in which this quarterly report is being prepared;
       (b)    Evaluated  the   effectiveness  of  the  registrant's   disclosure
              controls  and   procedures   and  presented  in  this  report  our
              conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and
              procedures,  as of the end of the period  covered  by this  report
              based on such evaluation; and
       (c)    Disclosed in this report any change in the  registrant's  internal
              control  over  financial   reporting  that  occurred   during  the
              registrant's most recent fiscal quarter (the  registrant's  fourth
              fiscal  quarter  in  the  case  of  an  annual  report)  that  has
              materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect,
              the registrant's internal control over financial reporting; and
5.  The registrant's other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our
    most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting,  to the
    registrant's  auditors  and the audit  committee  of  registrant's  board of
    directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):
       (a)    All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design
              or operation of internal  control over financial  reporting  which
              are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability
              to record,  process,  summarize and report financial  information;
              and
       (b)    Any fraud,  whether or not material,  that involves  management or
              other  employees who have a significant  role in the  registrant's
              internal control over financial reporting.



Date:  October 29, 2003      By:  /s/    Lloyd L. Hill
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                                  Lloyd L. Hill
                                  Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
                                  (principal executive officer)