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, with where the numbers land against category peers. Weighing Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar against other options? Get a free shortlist of franchises that fit your budget.
Figures 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. See every other Wisconsin-registered franchise.
Considering Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar? See what else fits your budget
Tell us your budget and the industries you're open to. We'll match you with 5–10 franchises whose own FDDs fit — ranked by earnings disclosure, growth and closure rate — and email you the list. Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar will be on it if it fits.
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 headline figure did not machine-read cleanly from this filing, so we don't print one; Item 19 of the source FDD has the tables. 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.
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. Item 3 of the source FDD describes each case.
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. Its franchised-outlet closure rate — closures, terminations and non-renewals against outlets — is 2.3%. Net franchised outlets moved -44 to 1,416 in the latest reported year.
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. The same franchisor files separate FDDs for other brands, which is worth knowing — sibling brands share a franchise-support organization but disclose their own numbers:
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. The same franchisor also files FDDs for Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar and. 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. Against category peers it sits in the bottom quartile (median $227,750).
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.
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 headline figure did not machine-read cleanly, so check Item 19 of the source FDD for the numbers.
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.
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 and against your own budget. Our read on this filing is medium risk. Every figure behind that read is on this page for free. If you're comparing options, the free shortlist on this page matches you with 5–10 franchises that fit your budget and industry.
Get 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 state registries this page is built on.