Kansas City, Kan. Eight Applebee’s locations in and around the area have closed, leaving only two on the market. According to the Kansas City Star, Locations in Kansas City, Mission, Overland Park, Raytown, Olathe, Lee’s Summit and Leavenworth were suddenly closed.

Blue Springs and Northland, Kan. Their locations remain open. All are operated by the same franchisee, Apple Central KC LLC, which has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Kansas City this week.

Relating to: An Applebee’s franchisee declares bankruptcy

In a statement, Applebee’s president Tony Moralejo told the Star that the decision to close was made by the franchisee and appeared to depend on financial conditions.

The franchisee had many problems in the past. The lawsuit was filed by the parent company after it closed seven restaurants in the area in 2018 without the franchisor’s approval, Star reported. One of these places was permanently closed after two black women were falsely accused of not paying their bills. The women said they were racially profiled, and the manager and two other employees were quickly fired before the restaurant closed about a week later.

In 2022, a franchisee executive was terminated after he sent an email that went viral claiming the company could pay its employees less due to inflation.increase application flow.”

The closure and bankruptcy came about two weeks after another Applebee’s franchisee, Louisiana Apple, filed for Chapter 11 protection. Louisiana Apple operates 14 locations in Kentucky, Oklahoma, Indiana and Arkansas, and the bankruptcy filing follows a lawsuit filed by one of its creditors claiming the franchisee is owed nearly $8.3 million since September 2020.

Apple Central KC and Louisiana Apple’s bankruptcy filings join a growing number of restaurant concepts, from Red Lobster and BurgerFi to franchisees of Arby’s, Dickey’s and Pizza Hut, seeking protection this year in a challenging environment created by expensive debt and a slowdown. sales and traffic. Especially there only 31 franchisees on Applebee’s system with more than 1,500 units.

Applebee’s has spent the last few years closing underperforming stores and has had negative same-store sales for just over a year. Tony Moralejo took over as president last year and implemented a new strategy to eventually return to net growth, including smaller, more cost-effective prototypes and a greater focus on increasing average unit volumes. The chain has also increased its promotional offers and recently signed a deal with the NFL. Parent company Dine Brands will report third-quarter results on November 6.

Contact Alicia Kelso (email protected)