Popular Illinois Chain Restaurant Closing Many US Locations

I'm unsure if the Applebee's on East State Street in Rockford is still open.

The other truth is that I haven't been to any Applebee's in a hot minute, so I can't say for sure.

I can tell you that Applebee's "temporarily closed" in 2021, and I guess it reopened.

If you look at their Facebook, 1. it's still active, and 2. there is no mention of the place closing down.

Including the open Rockford locations, there are 35 different Applebee's spots in Illinois:

• Belvidere
• Bloomington
• Bradley
• Breese
• Carbondale
• Chicago
• Collinsville
• Crestwood
• Elgin
• Forsyth
• Freeport
• Galesburg
• Glen Carbon
• Granite City
• Hodgkins
• Jacksonville
• Marion
• McHenry
• Moline
• Mount Vernon
• Pekin
• Peru
• Quincy
• Savoy
• Shiloh
• Springfield
• Swansea
• Waterloo
• Wood River

All that's to say, the Rockford location and others might close in 2024, and here's why.

The Today website says Applebee's parent company, Dine Brands Global, plans to "close up to 35 restaurants this year" and will add 25 new IHOP spots.

The news adds to the already published story that IHOP and Applebee's might consider joint locations "after seeing success with the model overseas."

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Dine Brands Global essentially says, "Do you love Applebee's? Do you love IHOP? What if you could have a Dollarita and some pancakes?"

A press release last month states that sales at stand-alone Applebee's locations in America have declined nearly 5% year over year.

Where does Applebee's stand against other chain restaurants in America? See the full list of the 50 Most Popular Chain Restaurants in America below.