Applebee's Is Shutting Down More Restaurant Locations In These 3 States

Fans of Applebee's will be devastated to learn that a handful of the chain's restaurants are set to close in the near future, with three states losing long-standing locations. Across Indiana, New York, and Missouri, four Applebee's locations have either recently closed their doors or are set to do so in the near future.

Two locations in Evansville, Indiana, on East Morgan Avenue and Pearl Drive, closed in February, leaving the city with no remaining Applebee's restaurants. Both of these locations opened well over 20 years ago. Now, the closest Applebee's establishments for those residing in Indiana's third-largest city are across the Ohio River in Henderson, Kentucky. 

Columbia, Missouri, has also recently experienced an Applebee's closure, but luckily, it still has one location in town that will remain open. The West Columbia Applebee's on Augusta Road shuttered in February, after over 30 years in business. Lastly, if you're one of the many Gen Z fans of Applebee's and you live near Glenville, New York, you'll want to enjoy the restaurant in town as much as possible over the next month; the small suburban town will see its sole Applebee's location on Saratoga Road close down on April 12.

While Applebee's is no stranger to mass closures (it was one of the restaurant chains that closed the most locations back in 2024, after all), many have been quick to question whether it indicates a continuous decline for the chain. This is an especially prevalent theory due to the 2025 earnings call that recently took place, which revealed that Applebee's experienced a year-over-year sales decrease of 0.4% for the fourth quarter of 2025.

However, Applebee's CEO John Peyton says closing down these locations has very little to do with the overall health of the business. "Restaurant closures are a normal part of running a mature national system, but they don't define our trajectory," Peyton said in a statement to Newsweek. "What matters is the momentum behind our growth, and we're seeing real signs of an inflection point. ... Our strategy is working, our teams are executing, and we're firmly focused on expanding our footprint and serving more guests across the country." 

This stance isn't just damage control, either. Qualities like Applebee's double happy hour window and the viral O-M-Cheese Burger have successfully separated the restaurant from the rest of the pack, and there's clearly still a lot of fight left in the enduring fast-casual chain. Plus, considering the chain still has over 1,500 locations open across 11 countries and territories — and is poised to increase its presence by opening more than two dozen locations by 2031 — the four closures taking place at the start of 2026 may not be a bad omen, as many might think.