Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill and Bar on Monday opened its 2,000th restaurant, a milestone it had aspired to before being acquired in late 2007.
Lenexa-based Applebee’s Services Inc., a subsidiary of DineEquity Inc., said Monday that it was holding a mid-day celebration at the 2,000th restaurant in Harlem, N.Y. The company, based in Glendale, Calif., said it was the first casual dining concept in the world to reach that benchmark.
Company franchisee Apple-Metro Inc., which owns and operates Applebee’s restaurants in Manhattan and surrounding boroughs, opened the landmark restaurant. Apple-Metro, which runs three of the highest-grossing Applebee’s in the system, was the 2009 Applebee’s Franchisee of the Year and employs more than 3,000. The Harlem restaurant employs almost 200.
