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 23, 2003
                                                --------------------------------

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 23, 2003,  Applebee's  International,  Inc.(the  "Company") issued a
press  release  entitled  "Applebee's  International  Enters Into  Agreement  to
Acquire 11 Franchise Restaurants." The press release is included below.




                                                           FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


Contact: Carol DiRaimo,
         Director of Investor Relations
         (913) 967-4109


                 APPLEBEE'S INTERNATIONAL ENTERS INTO AGREEMENT
                       TO ACQUIRE 11 FRANCHISE RESTAURANTS

OVERLAND  PARK,  KAN.,  January  23,  2003  --  Applebee's  International,  Inc.
(Nasdaq:APPB)  announced  today that it has reached an agreement with Thomas and
King,  Inc.,  an  existing  Applebee's  franchisee,  to acquire the assets of 11
Applebee's  restaurants  for  $23.2  million  in cash  at  closing,  subject  to
adjustment.  The  restaurants  are located in  Illinois,  Indiana,  Kentucky and
Missouri.

Lloyd L. Hill,  chairman and chief executive officer,  said, "Part of our growth
strategy is to use our strong balance sheet and  substantial  free cash flow for
franchise acquisitions. These restaurants are contiguous to the St. Louis market
that we  acquired  in 1997,  and their  addition  will  provide  geographic  and
operations  synergy  to our  base  of  company  restaurants.  Fiscal  year  2002
comparable sales for these restaurants were higher than the system average,  and
average  weekly  sales were in excess of $44,000.  We believe the  territory  in
which these restaurants are located will ultimately support a total of more than
15 Applebee's restaurants.  We look forward to welcoming this team of associates
and their strong operating culture to Applebee's International."

The  acquisition  of the  restaurants  is anticipated to close late in the first
quarter of 2003,  subject to obtaining  operating licenses and other third-party
consents.  The company expects the addition of these  restaurants to be slightly
accretive to fiscal year 2003 earnings.

Thomas and King is currently  the largest  franchisee in the  Applebee's  system
with 85 restaurants  in seven states.  Upon  completion of the sale,  Thomas and
King will  continue  to operate  Applebee's  restaurants  located  primarily  in
Arizona, Kentucky and Ohio.


                                    - more -

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<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.  There are currently
over 1,500 Applebee's  restaurants  operating  system-wide in 49 states and nine
international countries.  Additional information on Applebee's International can
be found at the company's website (www.applebees.com).

Certain  statements  contained in this release are forward  looking and based on
current expectations. There are several risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual  results to differ  materially  from those  described,  including but not
limited to the ability of the company  and its  franchisees  to open and operate
additional restaurants  profitably,  the continued growth of its franchisees and
its ability to attract and retain qualified  franchisees,  the impact of intense
competition  in the casual  dining  segment of the  restaurant  industry and its
ability to control  restaurant  operating  costs  which are  impacted  by market
changes,  minimum wage and other employment laws, food costs and inflation.  For
additional  discussion of the principal  factors that could cause actual results
to be  materially  different,  the reader is referred to the  company's  current
report on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 16,
2002.  The company  disclaims  any  obligation  to update these  forward-looking
statements.






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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:    January 23, 2003                    By:/s/ Steven K. Lumpkin
         ---------------------                 ---------------------
                                               Steven K. Lumpkin
                                               Executive Vice President and
                                               Chief Financial Officer



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