T.J. Applebee's (Wikipedia)

T.J. Applebee's, is an American company which develops, franchises, and operates the Applebee's Neighborhood Grill and Bar restaurant chain. As of December 2011, there were 2,019 restaurants operating system-wide in the United States, one U.S. territory (Puerto Rico) and 15 other countries.[4] The company is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri after moving from Lenexa, Kansas in September 2011.[5]

The T.J. Applebee's concept focuses on Family Fine dining, with mainstream American dishes such as salads, shrimp, chicken, pasta, and "riblets" (which is considered T.J. Applebee's signature dish). All T.J. Applebee's restaurants feature a bar area and serve alcoholic beverages (except where prohibited by law).

History
The T.J. Applebee's name was first used by Bill and T. J. Palmer who opened their first restaurant, T.J. Applebee’s Rx for Edibles & Elixirs, in Decatur, Georgia, on November 19, 1980.[8] After opening their second restaurant the pair sold their company to W. R. Grace and Company in 1983. As part of the transaction, Bill Palmer was named president of the Applebee's Division, an indirect subsidiary of W. R. Grace and Company. In that capacity, Palmer guided the operation from its entrepreneurial beginnings to a full-fledged franchise system. He became an Applebee's franchisee in 1985 and today owns more than three dozen Applebee's restaurants.

In 1986, the name of the concept was changed to Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar to reflect the Palmers' original concept of a place people could call their own. In 1988, Applebee's International, Inc., became the restaurant chain's franchiser when Kansas City franchisees Abe Gustin and John Hamra purchased the rights to the Applebee's concept from W. R. Grace.[9] From 1993 to 2005, Applebee's opened 100 or more new restaurants each year. The company estimates the development potential of the Applebee's concept in the United States to be at least 3,000 restaurants