Applebee's menu pipeline is now eight quarters deep, and that steady flow of new entrees and appetizers helped the chain return to same-store sales growth of 0.9% in the third quarter. Guests are already seeing more frequent rollouts, while franchisees are being pushed to carry items that can sell without hurting unit economics.
John Peyton said, "What you see is that pipeline is now built and it's continuous" and "We'll keep adding to it and now we can roll out more food more often." He also said, "And looking ahead, we expect to have more new food items launching over the next 12 months than we have had in the last few years."
Eight quarters of Applebee's
Two years ago, Dine Brands set the goal of debuting a new item every quarter at Applebee's, and after a year and a half of work the chain had built an eight-quarter pipeline of new entrees and appetizers. The system is tied largely to the 2 for $25 menu, with items tested with guests so the company can see whether they can be profitable for franchisees before they are pushed out more broadly.
In the third quarter, Applebee's rolled out Bacon Cheeseburger Wonton Tacos and O-M-Cheese-adilla burgers. The taco item extended an existing platform, and Peyton said expanding these platforms can make it more desirable for guests to want to come back to that platform over and over again.
Traffic, sales, and launches
0.9% same-store sales growth in the third quarter came alongside traffic improvement from the prior year, giving the menu program a measurable result beyond one-off novelty. Bacon Cheeseburger Wonton Tacos were one of Applebee's strongest appetizer launches since the pandemic, and they outperformed Best Loaded Potato Waves, which debuted earlier in the year.
Two platform moves now matter for readers tracking what comes next: new food will keep arriving over the next 12 months, and Applebee's will add new platforms in 2027. Each of those platforms is expected to offer two to three items, which gives the chain room to refresh the menu without starting from scratch every quarter.
2027 platform gap
The missing piece is the type of food behind those 2027 platforms. Applebee's is widening the menu engine, but the company has not laid out the specific categories it will use next, leaving the practical roadmap to be defined by the next round of guest testing and consumer trend analysis.
