(NEXSTAR) – If you think “Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill and Bar” is a mouthful, just wait until you hear what the restaurant was originally called.
Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill and Bar (or Applebee’s for short) grew out of a single restaurant founded by Bill and T.J. Palmer in Decatur, Georgia, more than four decades ago. Bill Palmer had worked in the restaurant business for years by that point, but the Decatur restaurant marked the first time the Palmers struck out on their own, per a 1983 article in the then- Atlanta Journal.
Why is Ruth’s Chris Steak House called ‘Ruth’s Chris Steak House’?
Their idea was to open up a neighborhood haunt where patrons could enjoy dinner and drinks at reasonable prices. But the name they chose sounded a bit more like a place where you might buy cough medicine, or even a few packs of berry-flavored THC gummies.
That very first restaurant — T.J. Applebee’s Rx for Edibles & Elixirs, as it was known — officially opened its doors in November 1980, according to the company.