The Totally Random Way The Applebee's Founders Chose Its Name

There is a long and proud tradition of people choosing a name for their new project more or less by chance. The Dada art movement, for instance, got its name from somebody sliding a letter opener into a French dictionary and landing on "dada," a word for a hobby horse. The legendary indie rock group Pixies also got its name from the dictionary, selecting the word randomly and liking the connotation of mischief. We can add Applebee's, the American fast casual dining chain beloved by members of Gen Z and "Fancy Like" country singer Walker Hayes, to this list — although instead of a dictionary, the founders of Applebee's made use of a phone book.

When married couple Bill and T.J. Palmer wanted to open a restaurant in Decatur, Georgia, in 1980, they knew they needed to come up with a catchy name. However, after some of their original choices, like Pepper's and Cinnamon's, were already taken, they had to get creative. So they opened the phone book (back when those still existed in any meaningful way), turned to a page, and found the name "Appleby." (We guess it was a stroke of luck on their part that they landed on a name that rolls off the tongue: "Schermerhorn's Neighborhood Bar and Grill" wouldn't have quite the same ring to it.)

You may have noticed a slight difference between "Appleby's" and "Applebee's." It turned out that "Appleby's" was also spoken for, so the Palmers changed the spelling to "Applebee's" for their first restaurant: a place themed after an old-time drugstore called T.J. Applebee's Edibles and Elixirs. This was T.J.'s idea, and she wanted to go all-out with the theming, including a barber shop pole out front.

Unfortunately for Bill and T.J., their marriage and their business partnership quickly turned acrimonious. They would eventually divorce, and sold the restaurant in 1983 to somebody who changed the name to the now-familiar Applebee's Neighborhood Bar & Grill. Even if husband and wife didn't quite climb the mountain together, they both started the journey hand in hand — and it all began with a random name in a phone book. Now, why not celebrate their achievement by popping in during Happy Hour?