Applebee’s adds 36 seats, ditches waiting list
Posted on 03. Nov, 2009 by yvettedavis in Real Estate/Construction
by Yvette Davis
The Wenatchee Applebee’s at 1300 N. Miller St. added an enclosed sunroom with space for another 36 seats in a $50,000 construction project that started Sept. 14.
Apple America, parent company of Applebee’s, obtained a building permit in July for a 760-square-foot addition and remodel which will bring the seating capacity of the restaurant to 250. The new section opened for dining Oct. 16, though landscaping work will continue a little while longer on the outside of the building.
Contractors rip out the concrete on the north side of the Applebee’s building at 1300 N. Miller St., Wenatchee, in preparation for construction work. Photo taken Sept. 15. Work on the site began Sept. 14. YVETTE DAVIS/WBJ
Bill Lewis, Wenatchee Applebee’s manager, said the added capacity will help his staff seat guests more quickly during the restaurant’s busiest times — Friday and Saturday nights, and daily at lunchtime — instead of resorting to a waiting list.
“That was our primary reason for wanting to get bigger,” Lewis said. “When this was built is was one of the smallest of the Applebee’s floorplans. Now we are getting caught up.”
The Wenatchee Applebee’s is now similar in size to the Tacoma location and one of the bigger restaurants in the company’s Puget Sound and Wenatchee region.
Also, the remodel gives Lewis the space for larger tables, making it easier to seat large groups, something he said the restaurant has struggled with in the past. Six of the new 10 tables will seat seven.
The digging is done and building extension has begun in this Sept. 29 photo. YVETTE DAVIS/WBJ
This is the second remodel to the Wenatchee restaurant. The first one, five years ago, added the outdoor patio and seating for 40. The contractor for that job, Monton and Holbrooks, is the same contractor working on the current project. Monton and Holbrooks does most of the Applebee’s construction for Washington, California and Nevada.
The Olympia Wash.-based contractor is doing double duty right now with jobs in process on both sides of the river. Monton and Holbrooks is also the electrical contractor for the new Olive Garden restaurant in East Wenatchee.
This Oct. 13 photo of the Applebee's remodel shows the masonry work finished and the roof completed. Later in the project windows, were added on three sides and a planter bed spans the length of the 38-foot long wall. YVETTE DAVIS/WBJ
Lewis said that he has been aware Olive Garden was coming to town for some time, and said he expects it to have some effect on business. But he is confident Applebee’s current relationships with their guests is good. Right now, the eatery’s sales are up slightly over last year, he said. And, the company competes with Olive Garden throughout their markets all the time.
“It’s just part of doing business,” he said.
Lewis has been with the company for seven years and the general manager of the Wenatchee location for four years. The restaurant employs 65-70 people.
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