Applebee’s Turmoil Continues: Are Its Last CNY Locations in Trouble?

Things aren't looking great for Applebee's and fans are worried this latest news means more closures are on the horizon.

There are 94 Applebee's remaining in New York, which is the second most in the entire country.

In Central New York, only a handful of locations are left with its last restaurants remaining in Rome, Utica, New Hartford, Herkimer, Oneonta, Dewitt, Liverpool, Cortland, and Syracuse.

The chain has been grappling with financial struggles for a few years, but the issues became more pronounced after the pandemic. To keep afloat, the chain said it expected to close up to 35 locations in 2024.

Despite this, Applebee's continues to flounder. The business reported a disappointing second quarter, per Nation's Restaurant News, which spells out that customers continue to cut spending on dining out in favor of cooking at home.

Read More: Old Farmer's Almanac Predicts First Frost for New York

Dine Brands CEO John Peyton said in an earnings call, "The first four months [of the year] were encouraging, but there was a change and softness in the last three months that was somewhat unexpected for us."

Q2 sales shrunk by 1.8%, which came after the brand hyper-focused on value items on the menu such as the Dollarita or all-you-can-eat boneless wings. "We’re beginning to shift that pendulum more toward driving value to drive traffic," said Peyton.

The CEO added the chain will continue to take a "modest and conservative approach" to raising menu prices. So far, customers are paying roughly 2.6% more than last year.

Dine Brands, which owns Applebee's and IHOP confirmed the opening a mixture of 16 new restaurants of the two brands, while closing 25.

At this point, it seems Applebee's is maintaining the current number of restaurants and is willing to pursue the theory that putting more affordable items on the menu is the answer to their problems.

It's been a rough year for numerous businesses, both local and national. The pandemic and ongoing inflation issues are putting too much of a strain on Americans' wallets. Applebee's is by far not the only company grappling with consumer pullback and store closures.

Below are just some examples of the major closures to happen this year.

Read More: Rite Aid Pharmacy Chain to Close 800 US Locations, 60 in New York

Read More: Stop and Shop to Close about a Dozen of Its 100 NY Locations 

Read More: Big Lots Closing More Stores, 10 in New York

Read More: LL Flooring Declares Bankruptcy: Closes 94 Stores, 4 in New York

When it comes to retail, it's believed these 9 chains will bite the dust sometime this year.

Central New York has also dealt with some tough losses. Just this summer alone, the Mohawk Valley said goodbye to Retro Fitness in Yorkville, Wheelock Rides out of Syracuse, the family-owned business Mazzullo and Sons Carpet & Flooring in Oneida, and the BNY Mellon in Oriskany Business Park.

Central New Yorkers are hoping Applebee's can turn itself around so they can continue noshing on the chain's famous spinach artichoke dip, honey chicken tenders, triple chocolate meltdowns and more on the cheap.

The restaurant's chain CEO hopes very much the same, by vowing, "We’re not losing sight of our North Star, which is having brands where guests come for value. In tough times, they’ll continue to look for us for value. We will not stray from that."

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