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)       December 12, 2002
                                                --------------------------------

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)


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<PAGE>



Item 5.           Other Events

On December 12, 2002,  Applebee's  International,  Inc. (the "Company") issued a
press release entitled "Applebee's  International  Announces Executive Changes."
The press release contained the following information.





FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:
Investor Relations: Carol DiRaimo, (913) 967-4109
Media Relations:    Laurie Ellison, (913) 967-2718

              Applebee's International Announces Executive Changes

Overland  Park,   Kan.,  Dec.  12,  2002  --  Applebee's   International,   Inc.
(Nasdaq:APPB)  today announced that George D. Shadid,  chief operating  officer,
has decided to leave the company effective Jan. 12, 2003, but will remain on the
company's  board of  directors.  Shadid  joined the  company as chief  financial
officer in 1992 and was  promoted  to chief  operating  officer  in early  2002.
Shadid has served on the company's board of directors since 1999.

Lloyd L.  Hill,  chairman  and chief  executive  officer  said,  "We  appreciate
George's dedication and many contributions to Applebee's.  The decision to leave
Applebee's comes after much reflection on George's part as to what was important
to him and his  family.  George  was an  important  part of seeing  our  company
through the past 10 years of  unprecedented  growth,  when we added nearly 1,300
restaurants  and became the most dominant brand in casual dining.  With George's
departure,  we are  fortunate  to have in place  today a very strong and capable
operations team focused on the many opportunities ahead."

The company also  announced the promotion of David L. Goebel to the new position
of executive vice  president of  operations.  Goebel joined the company in early
2001 as senior vice  president of  franchise  operations.  In his new  capacity,
Goebel will  oversee all aspects of  restaurant  operations  for more than 1,450
domestic  Applebee's  restaurants,   including  franchise  operations,   company
operations, training and operations excellence initiatives.

Hill continued,  "I am happy to have an executive of Dave's caliber who has such
a deep understanding of restaurant operations and our franchise community.  Dave
enjoys the confidence,  support and respect of our franchise partners.  Together
with Carin Stutz, our senior vice president of company operations,  the two have
over 50 years of  restaurant  experience.  Dave  has  been  instrumental  in the
development  and rollout of our To Go  initiative,  which is meeting  with early
success in the  marketplace.  I look forward to working directly with Dave as we
continue the execution of our operations excellence strategies."

                                     -more-

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<PAGE>



Goebel has more than 30 years of general  management  experience,  including  22
years  in  the  restaurant  industry,   encompassing  management  and  executive
positions with a number of casual dining concepts.

Hill  concluded,  "My  confidence  about the future of Applebee's has never been
higher.  Our operations team has been in place over the past two years,  and has
performed  well.  George's many  significant  contributions  will be missed.  In
addition to George,  much of our success is  attributable  to Dave's and Carin's
operations  expertise.  We look forward to continuing our strategy of operations
excellence under their capable  leadership.  The board and I remain committed to
developing the full range of our entire executive team for the future leadership
of Applebee's."

                                    * * * * *

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.  There are currently
1,489  Applebee's  restaurants  operating  system-wide  in 49  states  and eight
international countries.  Additional information on Applebee's International can
be found at the company's website (www.applebees.com).




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<PAGE>


                                   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:    December 12, 2002                 By: /s/  Steven K. Lumpkin
         ---------------------                 -----------------------
                                               Steven K. Lumpkin
                                               Executive Vice President and
                                               Chief Financial Officer



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