This Iconic Restaurant Chain Is Making Some Big Changes To Revamp Its Image

2024 was a difficult year for the restaurant industry, but Applebee's has been suffering poor business for years. With the brand in dire need of a refresh, some locations are taking big steps toward a new and (hopefully) more profitable Applebee's experience to bring customers back. Major restaurant franchisor Dine Brands recently announced its "Lookin' Good" program to radically redesign 47 Applebee's locations. Among these, 30 remodels will be completed in 2025.

However, Applebee's is not facing this rebrand entirely alone. Dine Brands will be combining five Applebee's locations with another one of its iconic chain restaurants, IHOP, to expand on a successful dual restaurant concept. Applebee's reimagining is meant to improve customer satisfaction with an updated menu focusing on value. These Applebee's locations will feature modern designs and kitchens streamlined for offsite business like take-out and delivery, which Dine Brands says now accounts for a significant percentage of its business.

Plagued by a legacy of scathing Applebee's reviews online, the chain has already made several bold steps toward a rebrand. In 2021, Applebee's launched a branding campaign around country music after the song "Fancy Like" by Walker Hayes, which prominently features the restaurant in its lyrics, went viral. The song temporarily boosted Applebee's sales, but the benefits did not last forever.

It's been a long slide down for a chain restaurant that was once at the forefront of industry technology. Applebee's was an early adopter of ziosks, the table-mounted tablets that let customers easily place and edit orders. These were available at some Applebee's as early as 2014.

Another revolutionary concept that has performed well for Applebee's is its combination restaurants with IHOP. Applebee's/IHOP locations proved popular enough internationally that they were introduced to the U.S. last year, where, according to CEO John Payton, they generated as much as twice the revenue as standalone locations for either brand. Expanding this dual restaurant concept should help continue to grow Applebee's financial prospects.