To Our Guests,
For 40 years, we’ve valued our relationship with you – our guests – and the trust you place in us. We know what an uncertain time this is, and that trust has become more important than ever before. That’s why we want you to know what we’ll be doing to keep you safe as we begin to welcome you back into our dining rooms again.
We’ve been fortunate that the vast majority of our restaurants have been able to continue serving our guests, providing them safe and convenient meals through Carside To Go® and Applebee’s DeliverySM. We’re honored to serve you, and we’re deeply grateful for your continued support.
While we’ve been open, our team members and franchisees have inspired me in so many ways through their commitment to Doin’ Good in the Neighborhood®. I’m heartened by the story we heard from the team who made a card, picked up flowers and personally delivered this gift with a meal to the 90-year-old fan whose birthday celebration wasn’t able to be. And by our franchise partners who week after week find ways to connect with furloughed team members and have provided thousands of free meals for families this past month. These are only two of many great ways our teams and franchisees are supporting their communities during this unprecedented time.
Welcome Back Into Our Dining Rooms
We know how important the safety of our restaurants is to you. It’s important to us too. I can assure you that we have a safety-first mindset in our preparations as we ready our teams and restaurants for providing you a welcomed escape from your time at home.
We’ve been hard at work considering every detail of your visit from the moment you drive onto our parking lots to the moment we thank you for visiting us. Our decisions will be thoughtful and intentional. As you can imagine, it’s going to look a bit different. It won’t be business as usual. And it may not look the same in each restaurant, since each of our franchisees will be following local and state mandates. But protecting you and team members is our top priority. This is an evolving situation, and I personally appreciate your patience and understanding as our restaurants move toward full service again.
As we reopen our dining rooms, here are some things you should expect in our restaurants:
- Strict, regimented cleaning, sanitizing and disinfecting procedures and schedules
- Team members wearing face coverings to protect themselves and others
- Enhanced “no touch” processes
- Dining rooms and bars with reduced seating to ensure proper social distancing
- Convenient and visible hand sanitizer bottles or stations available for use upon entrance
- Tabletop devices that will allow for contactless payments where available
- Single-use, disposable menus, and access to online menu on your own device
- Condiments available upon request and their containers disinfected after each use
- Ongoing adherence to strict team member health protocol requiring team members who do not feel well to stay home and seek proper health care, as needed
- Reduced number of guests in the waiting area to again adhere to social distancing
- A limited menu as our restaurants begin to reopen to ensure we’re able to provide the best experience to each guest
Thank you for your support and patience as we get through this next phase of this pandemic together. We miss our Applebee’s guests and can’t wait to open our doors and welcome you back. Until then, from our family to yours, stay safe, be well and see you soon.
John Cywinski
President, Applebee’s Grill + Bar
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