Arlington Heights Applebee's will close

Arlington Heights will join eight other suburbs in losing its Applebee's when the restaurant closes in the next few weeks.

Two managers at the restaurant, 111 E. Algonquin Road, said Monday their location is closing.

After filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late April, AppleIllinois said it planned to close eight suburban restaurants — including locations in Palatine, Schaumburg, Geneva and Streamwood — but Arlington Heights was not included in that list.

However, the decision to shutter those restaurants did not rule out additional closures, Applebee's corporate spokesman Dan Smith said.

AppleIllinois put the remaining 25 Chicago area locations on the market, Smith said. Any location that didn't sell to someone interested in operating it as an Applebee's will close. The sale process is now complete, Smith said, but he couldn't confirm late Monday which restaurants would be closing and which would be staying open.

The franchisee told employees that their restaurants could close between June 21 and July 25 if someone didn't buy their restaurant and related assets, Smith said. Reports from last month say AppleIllinois informed the state of Illinois that it could lay off up to 1,700 workers.

Applebee's will be at least the fourth restaurant to close near the intersection of Arlington Heights and Algonquin roads in the past year.

Yanni's Greek restaurant closed last June, and The Wellington closed last August, both virtually on that intersection. Gino's East, a pizzeria less than a mile from the intersection on Golf Road, closed in April this year.

“That area has seen a huge decrease in the number of restaurants and food establishments,” said Jon Ridler, executive director of the Arlington Heights Chamber of Commerce, who couldn't pinpoint a reason besides financial struggle.

Gino's will be replaced by a Panera. And a few investors are showing interest in the Yanni's building, said Charles Witherington-Perkins, director of planning and community development for the Village of Arlington Heights. Elk Grove Township Elementary District 59 plans to buy The Wellington property.

Witherington-Perkins said that it's too early to tell if anyone will be interested in buying the Applebee's property but he said the area's proximity to the Jane Addams Tollway (I-90), hotels and other restaurants makes it a great location for businesses.