Amarillo Could Be Losing Applebee’s and IHOP
Amarillo has so many new restaurants and so many more moving into the city. However, some of the restaurants that have been around for decades may be leaving the city. Some of your old favorites might be closing their doors.
DineEquity, the company that owns Applebee's and IHOP announced that it will be closing up to 160 restaurants.
Up to 135 Applebee's Restaurants will be shutting their doors. That does not bode well for Amarillo. Amarillo currently has 2 Applebee's restaurants. One is located on Soncy and the other is located near Tascosa Road.
According to Richard J. Dahl, Chairman and interim Chief Executive Officer of DineEquity, Inc.:
"We are investing in the empowerment of our brands by improving overall franchisee financial health, closing underperforming restaurants and enhancing the supply chain. We are focusing on operations and elevating the guest experience, whether in our restaurants or off-premise. We believe 2017 will be a transitional year for Applebee's and we are making the necessary investments for overall long-term brand health and expect to see improvement over the next year."
It is a possibility that Amarillo will lose at least one Applebee's, if not both. Unfortunately, over the last few years, I haven't seen many positive reviews on the restaurants. You can read a ton of those reviews on the Amarillo Texas Restaurant Reviews Facebook Page.
When it comes it IHOP the company is set to close up to 25 of its restaurants.
Richard J. Dahl, Chairman and interim Chief Executive Officer of DineEquity, Inc. also stated:
"IHOP remains on solid ground, despite soft sales this quarter. I am optimistic about the growth in both effective franchise restaurants and system-wide sales. IHOP is currently rolling out initiatives to address the convenience needs of our guests, which are inclusive of online ordering as well as accelerating tests for delivery and development of an IHOP mobile application. We believe these will create enhanced revenue channels."
The IHOP on Western in Amarillo earned their bad rap after several people ended up with salmonella poisoning in 2008. After, a forced shut down and thorough cleaning of the restaurant and eventually a makeover, people slowly moved passed that incident.
Another IHOP was opened in Amarillo near Ross/Osage at 1711 E. I-40. Unfortunately it hasn't gotten great reviews either. Here's is a few of the ATRR reviews about IHOP.
So will these restaurants in Amarillo close their doors? We'll keep you up to date on the closings. In the meantime you can read more about the closings in the press release from DineEquity.