Franchise Facts Report → brands → Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar
Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar franchise — is it worth it?
Medium risk Shrinking network Item 19 disclosed
Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar is a well-established casual dining brand with a significant initial investment ranging from $3.8M to $5.8M.
Everything below is free, read straight off Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar's registered filing. The $99 report is the part a single FDD can't give you: the earnings figures themselves, and where every number lands against category peers.
The numbers above tell you what Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar discloses. The report tells you whether that's good:
- The earnings figures themselves — the average unit revenue Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar puts on paper in Item 19, and what it does and doesn't include.
- Where every number ranks — investment, fees, royalty, earnings and churn against category median and quartile. This is the part no single FDD, and no AI reading one, can produce.
- What's driving the medium risk read — the specific figures behind it, not the label.
- The litigation, split properly — beyond the count above: each case, and which ones franchisees brought against the franchisor rather than the reverse.
- The questions to ask before you sign — drawn from what Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar's own filing leaves open, in the words to use on the call.
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Compare 3 brands — $249 See a sample reportFigures above are as disclosed in Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar's most recent FDD (registered 2026). Source: Wisconsin Dept. of Financial Institutions — Franchise Registration · filing 640481 — check it yourself. The Item 19 figures, where each number ranks against peers, and the litigation & churn detail are in the full report.
How much does a Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar franchise make?
Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar is one of the franchisors that answers this on the record: its most recent FDD makes an Item 19 financial performance representation — actual unit earnings figures, disclosed by the franchisor itself. The average revenue Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar reports, what that figure does and doesn't include, and where it ranks against category peers are in the full report. See every other brand that discloses earnings in the Other franchises with disclosed Item 19 earnings ranking.
Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar franchise profit vs. revenue
Revenue is not profit. An Item 19 almost always reports sales — what a location takes in — not what an owner keeps. Out of that number come Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar's 4% royalty, the ad fund, rent, payroll, supplies and debt service. No FDD tells you a Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar franchise's profit, because profit depends on your site, your rent and how you run it — so treat any "Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar franchise profit" figure quoted elsewhere as someone's estimate, not a disclosure. The full report sets Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar's disclosed revenue against its total ongoing fee load, so you can see what that revenue has to cover before anything reaches you.
Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar lawsuits & legal history (FDD Item 3)
Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar's most recently filed Franchise Disclosure Document (2026) does disclose legal proceedings in Item 3 . Item 3 is the item where a franchisor must put its material legal history on the record. Two things it is not: it covers the franchisor and its predecessors, parents and affiliates, so a disclosed case is not necessarily a suit against Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar itself; and a disclosure is a fact, not a finding of wrongdoing — most entries are contract disputes with former franchisees, which every large system accumulates. The full Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar report lists each case with what it was about and how it ended, separates franchisee disputes from corporate and securities matters, and flags the ones a franchisee started — the split that actually matters, because franchisees suing their franchisor is the signal a buyer is looking for.
Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar closures & failure rate
Before you sign, Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar will hand you a list of current owners to call as references — and they choose who's on that list. It won't include the owners who quit, got bought out, or were forced out last year. The FDD does report that number, even though the reference list leaves those people off. Below is what Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar's most recent filing shows, and whether it's normal for a franchise of this kind.
The closest thing an FDD has to a failure rate is Item 20 — outlet openings, closures, terminations and non-renewals, reported by the franchisor. Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar's latest tables show a shrinking franchised network — more units left than opened. The actual closure and termination counts, and how Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar's churn ranks against category peers, are in the full report.
The Item 19 earnings figures, every number ranked against category peers, and the litigation and churn detail — delivered instantly, yours to keep.
Not useful? Reply to your delivery email within 14 days for a refund — no forms, no argument.
Who owns Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar?
Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar's franchise is offered by Applebee's Franchisor LLC — the franchisor named on the cover of its most recently filed Franchise Disclosure Document (2026), and the entity a franchisee actually signs with. That name comes straight off the filing at WI DFI; it identifies the franchisor, not necessarily the ultimate parent company behind it.
Franchises at a similar investment level at a similar investment level
Anyone weighing Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar is really weighing it against the other brands their money could go into. These are the closest by total initial investment (FDD Item 7), each with its own FDD-based page.
Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar franchise — frequently asked
Who owns Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar — who is the franchisor?
Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar's most recently filed FDD (2026) names Applebee's Franchisor LLC as the franchisor — the entity you would actually sign the franchise agreement with, as stated on the disclosure document itself. A registry filing names the franchisor, not necessarily its ultimate parent company.
How much does a Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar franchise cost?
Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar's most recently filed FDD (Item 7) puts the total estimated initial investment at $3,870,004 – $5,822,933, with an initial franchise fee of $35,000 and a 4% royalty. That price is the franchisor's own estimate of what it takes to open, not a quote. The full report breaks down every fee line and benchmarks it against category peers.
How much profit does a Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar franchise make?
Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar discloses unit earnings in Item 19, but that figure is revenue — sales — not profit. Royalties (4% of gross for Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar), the ad fund, rent, payroll and supplies all come out of it, and no FDD discloses what an owner nets. Any Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar franchise profit number quoted elsewhere is an estimate. The full report shows the disclosed revenue against the full ongoing fee load it has to cover.
Does Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar disclose financial performance (Item 19)?
Yes — Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar reports unit-level earnings in Item 19. The full report shows the actual revenue figures and how they rank against category peers.
Are there lawsuits against Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar?
Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar's most recently filed FDD (2026) discloses legal proceedings in Item 3. Item 3 covers the franchisor, its predecessors, parents and affiliates — so a disclosed case is not necessarily a suit against Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar itself, and a disclosure is not a finding of wrongdoing. The full report lists each case, separates franchisee disputes from corporate and securities matters, and flags the franchisee-initiated ones.
Is Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar a good franchise to buy?
Nobody can answer that from Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar's numbers alone — it comes down to how its investment, earnings, litigation and franchisee churn stack up against category peers, which is what the full report is for. Our read on this filing is medium risk, stated free above. For $99 you get the figures driving that read, the actual Item 19 earnings (disclosed in this FDD), where every figure ranks against peers, and the specific questions to ask the franchisor before you sign.
A Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar franchise is a $3,870,004 – $5,822,933 decision you make once, on a ten-year agreement, usually with a personal guarantee behind it. For $99 you get an independent read of the document that decides it: the actual Item 19 earnings, every figure ranked against category peers, the litigation split into franchisee and corporate matters, the churn behind the outlet count — and the questions to put to the franchisor before you sign. If it tells you nothing new, reply within 14 days and we'll refund it.
Not useful? Reply to your delivery email within 14 days for a refund — no forms, no argument.
Compare 3 brands — $249Get a free email when something changes on Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar or this category: a new FDD registration, a new lawsuit, an outlet count that shifts, or Item 19 earnings going from undisclosed to disclosed. Pulled straight from the same registries every report is built on.