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Things not going well for Applebees


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5 minutes ago, Snake Diggity said:

Fuck Applebees.  National restaurant chains serve a purpose as somewhere travelers know they can go for cold beer and consistent (if mediocre) inexpensive food, and where locals can go late at night.  Chilis does a decent job of filling that role; Applebees does not.

Fair point.  But the food is not inexpensive.  I don't know where that rumor came from, but it's bullshit.  I hit up Chili's at myriad airports all the time.  There was a time when I'd walk over to the Applebee's or Chili's by a hotel because I took a cab to the property and it was late.  But once Uber was invented and I could be at a much better, and likely less expensive restaurant in 5 minutes for a $6 uber ride...I'd do that instead.  Applebee's and Chili's pad sites are hurting now because it's so easy to get to a restaurant district/CBD, even late, nowadays.  

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On 4/12/2022 at 8:31 AM, Lobo said:

No, I didn't go to Oxford.  I am aware that college towns serve cheap draft beer.  I more than drank my fair share.  My point was I was not aware of that particular product being put into kegs.  I would have known since I worked there for a few years (summers of 1991-1997).  Keystone kegs musta come out right after I left.  My cheap draft beer of choice was Busch Light.  I can still feel it in my veins.  

From 93 to 97 I bought countless Keystone kegs from various west campus beersellers.  You dont know what the shit you are talking about.  Which is fine.

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On 4/12/2022 at 8:31 AM, Lobo said:

No, I didn't go to Oxford.  I am aware that college towns serve cheap draft beer.  I more than drank my fair share.  My point was I was not aware of that particular product being put into kegs.  I would have known since I worked there for a few years (summers of 1991-1997).  Keystone kegs musta come out right after I left.  My cheap draft beer of choice was Busch Light.  I can still feel it in my veins.  

From 93 to 97 I bought countless Keystone kegs from various west campus beersellers.  You dont know what the shit you are talking about.  Which is fine.

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Got no issue with Applebee's whilst traveling.  I'm more of a "try the local flavor" guy, but yeah---on more than a dozen occasions, the only thing within walking distance from your hotel is an Applebee's and at least the beer is cold.  What I've never understood is how they get such a loyal following from locals.  It's marketed as this affordable, family-friendly eatery and it is neither.  Just like Golden Corral and Chili's, it's this ruse put over on working American families that should know better.  I don't know how they get away with it, but then...I guess that's the point. 
Keep GC name out yo mouth!! 4c2c1016e4ff95f51da2cfc4a8af2071.gif
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I wouldn’t want to go to an applys on purpose. But at a hotel in Santa Clarita I used to go to all the time there was one in front of it. Decent grilled chicken salad and cold beer. Again, I would never choose it for a stopping point. But I was with a sales rep and didn’t have a car.

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I don't go out of my way to eat at Applebee's and they are so far down the list of choices that I would probably think of going home to eat before thinking "oh, wait...how about Applebee's?"

I'm sure their restaurants are mostly franchised owned and only as good as the ownership/management makes them.  They should even put ownership's names on the sign like "Stan's Applebee's" or "Larry's Applebee's" so we all know whether it is a "sucks really bad" location or is just a "sucks mediocre" location.

What really hurt was Bennigan's shutting down locations; their Reuben sandwich and Monte Cristo sandwich were awesome.  They had a happy hour and I would meet my brother in law for dinner...we ordered our Reuben, drank beer and tried to play that online trivia game until they cut us off.

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I don't go out of my way to eat at Applebee's and they are so far down the list of choices that I would probably think of going home to eat before thinking "oh, wait...how about Applebee's?"
I'm sure their restaurants are mostly franchised owned and only as good as the ownership/management makes them.  They should even put ownership's names on the sign like "Stan's Applebee's" or "Larry's Applebee's" so we all know whether it is a "sucks really bad" location or is just a "sucks mediocre" location.
What really hurt was Bennigan's shutting down locations; their Reuben sandwich and Monte Cristo sandwich were awesome.  They had a happy hour and I would meet my brother in law for dinner...we ordered our Reuben, drank beer and tried to play that online trivia game until they cut us off.

18a1ff308b65c5b5698cd2961eb10040.jpg

NTTIATWWT
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I’ll say this about Applebees, Chilis, Olive Garden, and the like— when they turned up in my medium sized South Texas town in the 1990s it was a big damn deal.  “Take your homecoming date” big deal. Before that, your choices were Mexican (awesome), BBQ (OK), one pretty good steak and home cooking place, good but one-note fried seafood places, several shitty “American” food places, shitty Chinese, and fast food/chain pizza. 

I do think a lot of people went there, tried some things there like actual vegetables or their “Asian inspired” menu stuff, and then wanted to try other new things and better food.  Other places had to up their game and be better than Applebees or Olive Garden, and they did.  The chains are still there but now there’s also actual decent and diverse food besides the always awesome Mexican that was on offer and now people even laugh at the chains.

 

Edited by 956 Worldwide
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18 minutes ago, 956 Worldwide said:

I’ll say this about Applebees, Chilis, Olive Garden, and the like— when they turned up in my medium sized South Texas town in the 1990s it was a big damn deal.  “Take your homecoming date” big deal. Before that, your choices were Mexican (awesome), BBQ (OK), one pretty good steak and home cooking place, good but one-note fried seafood places, several shitty “American” food places, shitty Chinese, and fast food/chain pizza. 

 

 

We ate at that Applebees in the middle of town weekly growing up. It’s still going strong, as well as that Chinese place by the bridge on the arroyo I think. Can’t recall any other Chinese places in town actually. 
 

Do you remember the Hygiea plant on F street? We used to go there every Sunday to get sundaes. Good times. I think it’s a different ice cream place now but I haven’t been. 

Edited by Helobious
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12 minutes ago, Helobious said:

We ate at that Applebees in the middle of town weekly growing up. It’s still going strong, as well as that Chinese place by the bridge on the arroyo I think. Can’t recall any other Chinese places in town actually. 
 

Do you remember the Hygiea plant on F street? We used to go there every Sunday to get sundaes. Good times. I think it’s a different ice cream place now but I haven’t been. 

The Chinese place by the Arroyo was actually not terrible, it’s changed hands a few times.  I knew the owner (well, more her daughter actually) when it was at its peak. Daughter was cute as a button, went to SciTech, I tried really hard and managed a few covert dates that she didn’t tell mom about. But mom was all about her girl’s academics and a boyfriend just wasn’t gonna happen. 
 

Yeah, Hygiea’s ice cream shop was the tits. Loved that place and the ice cream sundaes in the plastic banana shaped boats. 
 

My real point here is that aside from a few gems that we remember, the small and medium sized town “mom and pop” food scene actually sucked ass in a lot of places, and if anything these chains made places up their game and new startups had to be actually good. 

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1 hour ago, 956 Worldwide said:

I’ll say this about Applebees, Chilis, Olive Garden, and the like— when they turned up in my medium sized South Texas town in the 1990s it was a big damn deal.  “Take your homecoming date” big deal. Before that, your choices were Mexican (awesome), BBQ (OK), one pretty good steak and home cooking place, good but one-note fried seafood places, several shitty “American” food places, shitty Chinese, and fast food/chain pizza. 

I do think a lot of people went there, tried some things there like actual vegetables or their “Asian inspired” menu stuff, and then wanted to try other new things and better food.  Other places had to up their game and be better than Applebees or Olive Garden, and they did.  The chains are still there but now there’s also actual decent and diverse food besides the always awesome Mexican that was on offer and now people even laugh at the chains.

 

I gotta say......when I go deer hunting, I pass by this place in Brady, coming and going:

r149-Mr-China-exterior.jpg

 

The boy and I have been tempted over the years to stop there and give it a whirl.  Because chinese grub in Brady.  But we haven't yet.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 4/17/2022 at 9:58 PM, markstanco said:

I wouldn’t want to go to an applys on purpose. But at a hotel in Santa Clarita I used to go to all the time there was one in front of it. Decent grilled chicken salad and cold beer. Again, I would never choose it for a stopping point. But I was with a sales rep and didn’t have a car.

what kind of a fucking sales rep does not have a car?

what were you selling coke in the bathroom?

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38 minutes ago, ButtFumble said:

well now you finally have a legit reason to go to Borger or Monahans (fuck the oil business out there is crazy I thought Monahans was basically a gas station)

 

https://bennigans.com/locations/

I appreciate your research.  But, I don’t miss ‘em that much.  Might as well go to Steubenville .. closer and probably similar in atmosphere. 😏

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On 4/10/2022 at 11:12 AM, Pam Cummings said:

As long as theres a bunch of fatasses too lazy to cook their own dinner, places like Applebee's and Chili's will continue their existance.

 

I do like the burgers at Chili's though. Also the molten chocolate cake dessert is always good despite the instant beetus it gives you. So they have that.

Fat ass

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On 4/19/2022 at 4:23 PM, Brisketexan said:

I gotta say......when I go deer hunting, I pass by this place in Brady, coming and going:

r149-Mr-China-exterior.jpg

 

The boy and I have been tempted over the years to stop there and give it a whirl.  Because chinese grub in Brady.  But we haven't yet.

It’s actually pretty good “American” Chinese, been there several times.  I don’t want to see the kitchen, of course.  The Chinese place on the courthouse square in Hamilton is quite good, too.

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