Iconic restaurant chain closes locations, plans what’s next

Sometimes you person to teardrop thing down to physique thing better.

That has ever been existent successful the edifice business. Chains regularly remodel locations, but successful immoderate cases, a afloat rebuild is the lone mode to hole postulation flow, room limitations, oregon changing lawsuit behavior.

The McDonald's connected the Berlin Turnpike successful Newington, Conn., wherever we lived for much than a decade, but person visited for 30 years, underwent astatine slightest 1 remodel and a afloat rebuild during that period. When it was rebuilt, it added aggregate drive-through lanes, thing it could not person done with a elemental remodel.

Something akin is happening with Applebee's. The Dine Brands edifice concatenation has been closing locations crossed the country, but it plans to unfastened thing bigger and amended to regenerate those closed restaurants.

• Restaurant remodels summation revenue. A survey cited by TouchBistro’s 2025 State of Restaurants Report recovered that 41% of edifice operators reported a income summation aft remodeling.

• U.S. manufacture experts urge a edifice renovation each 5 to 10 years, according to Restaurant Times.

• Statistics bespeak a imaginable 40% boost successful income from strategical remodeling, according to OysterLink data.

Industry analysts enactment that the biggest income gains travel from afloat rebuilds oregon large footprint changes, not cosmetic refreshes.

While Dine Brands has closed prime Applebee's locations and plans to adjacent more, it's increasing the marque done its dual edifice concept.

"The exemplary — which combines Dine’s 2 flagship brands nether 1 extortion and features paper items from some served by employees who are cross-trained — grew to 18 locations crossed 7 markets by the extremity of 2024. Those markets see Mexico, Canada, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Honduras, and Peru," Nation's Restaurant News (NRN) reported.

In the coming years, that's a conception the institution volition thin into.

"As we discussed past quarter, dual brands correspond a meaningful semipermanent accidental for nett portion growth. In 2025, we established the foundation, proving retired the model, refining the operating playbook, and gathering assurance with our franchisees. The results further reenforce our condemnation connected the value of dual brands," Dine Brands Global CEO John Peyton said during the company's fourth-quarter net call.

• Dine Brands has opened 32 dual-brand restaurants successful the U.S., including 3 company-owned locations.

• An further 9 dual-brand locations are nether construction.

• These restaurants proceed to outperform single-brand locations, delivering astir 1.5 to 2.5 times higher revenue.