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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Applebee’s Starts Scholarship Program Named for Founder

At its annual franchise conference last week, Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill + Bar announced the launch of a new scholarship program for employees and honored its top team members of the year.

John Cywinski, Applebee’s president, announced the launch of the Bill Palmer Legacy Scholarship in honor of Applebee’s late founder, Bill Palmer. It was established by Palmer’s former franchise group, Neighborhood Restaurant Partners. The annual scholarship program will provide $5,000 scholarships to 100 current Applebee’s team members and their children.

“Bill was a true pioneer and an industry icon,” Cywinski said in a statement. “Most importantly, he was a champion for our exceptional restaurant teams who represent the Applebee’s brand day in and day out, under challenging circumstances. I can’t think of a better legacy for Bill than providing annual college scholarships for deserving team members and their families.”

The Glendale-based restaurant chain, a subsidiary of Dine Brands Global Inc., also named William Reed, a Philadephian Applebee’s team member for more than 20 years, its general manager of the year for 2021. Apple American Group received the Abe Gustin Franchisee of the Year award, Doherty Enterprises was declared the Lloyd Hill Neighbor of the Year and the Bill Palmer Heart of Applebee’s Award went to Neighborhood Restaurant Partners.

Shares of Dine Brands Global (DIN) closed up 43 cents, or a fraction of a percent, to $80.12 on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday, a day when the Dow Jones industrial average closed up a fraction of a percent.

Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert
Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert
Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert is a Los Angeles-based reporter covering retail, hospitality and philanthropy for the San Fernando Valley Business Journal. In addition to her current beat, she is particularly interested in criminal justice topics, health and science stories and investigative journalism. She received her AA in Humanities from Moorpark College in 2016, her BA in Communication from Cal Lutheran University in 2019 and followed it up with a MA in Specialized Journalism from USC in the summer of 2020. Through her work, Katherine aspires to help strengthen the fragile trust between members of the media and the public.

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