As many as 135 Applebee’s restaurants may close this year

Parent company also expects to close 20 to 25 IHOP restaurants in 2017

Its parent company expects to close at least 105 Applebee's restaurants this year. (Source: WSVN.com)
Its parent company expects to close at least 105 Applebee's restaurants this year. (Source: WSVN.com)

DineEquity Inc., parent company of the Applebee’s restaurant chain, plans to close 105 to 135 of the diner-style restaurants this year.

That is more than double the company’s earlier expectation to close 40 to 60 locations in the nationwide Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar chain this year.

Applebee’s has 10 locations in South Florida, according to its website.

Glendale, California-based DineEquity Inc. also announced Aug. 10 that it plans to close 20 to 25 IHOP restaurants this year, up from its earlier expectation of closing about 18 IHOP locations.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

The IHOP website shows more than two dozen locations in South Florida.

Publicly traded DineEquity announced the expected closures together with its financial results for the second quarter of the year. Consolidated revenue fell to $155 million from $160 million in last year’s second quarter, and net income dropped to $21.2 million from $26.8 million.

The company said it expects sales at Applebee’s restaurants to fall 6 percent to 8 percent this year, compared with last year. IHOP sales are expected to decline 1 percent to 3 percent this year.