Many people consider Applebee's to be a great, casual place to get together and de-stress
after work, and the chain has built an empire on their friendly-neighborhood sort of approachability.
But there are some not-so-family-friendly things they probably prefer you didn't find
out.
Here's a look at some secrets Applebee's never wanted you to know.
Applebees after dark
Want to get your groove on?
Well, what better place to shake your moneymaker than…
Applebee's!?
Yes, it sounds weird, but some Applebee's franchises, particularly in the Florida area,
have begun doubling as late night party centers under the codename Club Applebee's.
While some spots simply do karaoke, others really go wild, turning Applebee's into the
most unlikely adult hotspot imaginable.
"Are you guys sure Applebee's is the best place to meet hot, horny women at?"
"What are you doing, Olive Garden?"
Underage drinking
In 2016, WJHL reported police were called to a Tennessee Applebee's after an employee
accidentally served three children — ages 9, 10, and 11 — an alcoholic root beer called
"Not Your Father's Root Beer," which the server claimed wasn't alcoholic.
"I immediately told my kids to stop drinking the alcoholic beverage and brought it to her
attention.
And she said, 'No, no, it's root beer.'"
That followed a 2011 incident at a different Applebee's where a toddler was served a margarita.
Perhaps the worst case, though, came in 2012, when an underage patron was left a quadriplegic
after a night of drinking at Applebee's ended with a car accident.
Applebee's settled the resulting lawsuit out of court.
A side order… of justice
Applebee's has faced quite a few legal issues over the past few years.
In 2017 alone, for instance, Applebee's faced three high profile cases: one for firing a
transgender hostess after she reported systematic harassment in the workplace, one for using
hit songs by AC/DC and C+C Music Factory in their commercials without permission, and
one for underpaying employees at 23 locations — a lawsuit that probably could have been
avoided if the chain had learned any lessons from a 2012 case where 5,500 bartenders and
servers were also found to have been underpaid.
Sheesh!
Dinner with a side of plastic
In 2012, author Tracie McMillan published the book The American Way of Eating: Undercover
at Walmart, Applebee's, Farm Fields and the Dinner Table.
After going undercover at Applebee's, she revealed to The Fiscal Times that she would
avoid their side dishes entirely because of uneven and potentially unsafe preparation.
She cited broccoli as an example, saying that the florets are heated inside a plastic bag,
which can flake off onto the food.
"So you're sending out these sides that have little flakes of plastic stuck on them.
If I were a diner, I would think that it was salt."
Yuck!
Foot in mouth disease
In 2012, Applebee's launched their "Girls Night Out Goddess" ad campaign, which was
designed to convince people it was better to meet up in person — at an Applebee's
— than just interact online.
Unfortunately, the result was a bit...abrasive.
"So if you think you can stand to not know what everyone you've ever met is doing for
a couple of hours, maybe you should give it a shot!"
Many viewers and pundits found the Girls Night Out Goddess to be condescending and outright
demeaning to women, as the ads were specifically targeting women on social media, for using
social media.
"You know, before there was Facebook, there was a thing called face-to-face.
Really a remarkable concept."
The ad agency behind the campaign issued a statement to AdWeek clarifying they weren't
trying to be jerks, but the damage was done and the ads were quickly discontinued in favor
of those embracing online activity.
So you'd think Applebee's would have learned their lesson when it comes to social media,
but just a year later…
Social media meltdown
In 2013, Applebee's got caught up in a bizarre social media meltdown.
It began when Pastor Alois Bell left a receipt with no tip and the note, "I give God 10%
why do you get 18."
The receipt — with signature — was posted on Reddit by Chelsea Welch, a co-worker of
the server who got the nasty note.
After Bell complained to Applebee's, the chain immediately fired Welch for posting the receipt,
which they said violated the customer's privacy.
And that's when things really went sideways for Applebee's.
After commenters noted that Applebee's own social media feed had done the exact same
thing by posting a customer's name and receipt just days earlier, the Applebee's social media
team went into a frenzy, posting a rambling comment on their status update at 3 in the
morning, blocking people, deleting negative comments, and responding to everyone with
the same copy-pasted message.
From there, the social media team began actually arguing with individual online protestors,
and the internet watched with equal parts delight and horror as Applebee's dug themselves
a hole with no bottom.