Applebee's Grill & Bar

Applebee's Restaurants LLC. is an American company that develops, franchises, and operates the Applebee's Neighborhood Grill + Bar restaurant chain.
==History==
===1980-2006===
The Applebee's chain was founded by Bill and T. J. Palmer in July 1980. Their vision was "to create a restaurant that had a neighborhood pub feel to it and could offer friendly service along with quality fare at a lower price than most of their competition." The name “Appleby” was their first choice for this concept, but they found that it had already been registered. https://www.rewindandcapture.com/why-is-applebees-called-applebees/ They also considered "Cinnamon's" and "Pepper's" before arriving at Applebee's. https://www.insider.com/things-to-know-about-applebees-2019-2 They opened their first location on November 19, 1980 in Decatur, Georgia, at the time named T.J. Applebee's Rx for Edibles & Elixirs. They opened a second location outside of Atlanta, Georgia, a few years later, and sold the company to W. R. Grace and Company in May 1983. As part of the transaction, Bill Palmer was named president of the Applebee's Division, an indirect subsidiary of W. R. Grace and Company. In that capacity, Palmer guided the operation from its entrepreneurial beginnings to a full-fledged franchise system. He became an Applebee's franchisee in 1985. Bill Palmer died in 2020. 
In 1986, the name of the concept was changed to Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar. http://www.cnn.com/2011/LIVING/03/04/mf.chain.restaurants/index.html In 1988, Applebee's International, Inc., became the restaurant chain's franchiser when Kansas City franchisees Abe Gustin and John Hamra purchased the rights to the Applebee's concept from W. R. Grace. http://ab.hoovers.com/12395831-1.html?hid=11606243&serv=GGLCHQ2231011760&t=30&num=8662819168&cm_ven=PAID&cm_cat=GGL&cm_pla=CHQ&cm_ite=applebee%27s_headquarters 
===2007-Present===
On July 16, 2007, IHOP Corp. announced that it agreed to buy Applebee's International for about $2.1 billion. Applebee's shareholders would receive $25.50 in cash per share, representing a 4.6% premium to the closing price on July 13, 2007. http://edgar.secdatabase.com/1034/110465907086923/filing-main.htm 
On August 11, 2017, DineEquity announced that Applebee's would close between 105 and 135 locations by the end of the year. Same-store sales decreased 7% in the previous quarter. http://fortune.com/2017/08/10/applebees-closing-105-restaurants/https://www.businessinsider.com/applebees-is-ditching-millennials-2017-8 
==Controversies==
===Rude Note===
In 2013, the chain faced an uproar on the Internet after firing a waitress who posted a picture of a customer's receipt that had a rude note written on it objecting to a required gratuity, and then poorly handling their response to the incident. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/us-restaurant-applebees-commits-social-media-suicide/story-e6frg6n6-1226570581548https://rlstollar.com/2013/02/02/applebees-overnight-social-media-meltdown-a-photo-essay/ 
===Side-Work Compensation===
Since 2006, Applebee's and its servers have been engaged in a lawsuit over hourly wages. The servers, who received a federal minimum wage of $2.13 per hour as tipped employees, allege that the company requires them to spend 20% of their time doing non-serving labor, for which they should be paid the federal non-tipped minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. The case has gone through several stages, including a judicially mandated binding arbitration session. https://web.archive.org/web/20140829223336/http://nrn.com/corporate/applebee-s-wages-fight-over-nontipped-duties
In September 2012, a judge in Illinois ruled in favor of the Applebee's employees and will evaluate damages at a later date. https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/employment-labor/2390-applebees-workers-win-compensation-in-wage-class-action-lawsuit/
==References==
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