Local Applebee’s franchisee revitalizes neighborhood restaurants with significant upgrades and deepens company’s commitment to the community following 2022 acquisition of 12 area restaurants
Virginia is Eatin’ Good in the Neighborhood. SSCP Management Inc., the Dallas-based Applebee’s franchisee, acquired 12 Roanoke and Lynchburg, Va. Applebee’s restaurants in 2022 and has since invested more than $1,500,000 over the past year ($125,000 per restaurant) to revitalize the restaurants and improve their neighborhoods. Through this investment, the community has taken notice and the SSCP-owned Applebee’s restaurants have experienced a resurgence and a revitalization unprecedented in the area.
“We love Virginia, and we’re thrilled with the welcoming reception this past year from our Roanoke and Lynchburg neighbors. We’ve taken great care to invest in these restaurants and their communities to make them an enjoyable place for delicious and affordable meals with excellent service.” said Applebee’s Executive Vice President Kerry Norton. “The market in Virginia is vibrant, and we continue to stand out from our competitors. We’re excited to continue to make this beloved brand more accessible in local neighborhoods while growing our collective businesses.”
SSCP’s 12 Virginia Applebee’s restaurants include Martinsville, Wytheville, Salem, Rocky Mount, Norton, Roanoke, Radford, Danville, Lynchburg, Lexington, South Boston, and Galax. The franchisee invested in these restaurants by adding new booths, new TV packages, juke boxes and upgraded sound systems, new flooring and blinds, manicured landscaping, exterior lighting and roof cap, LED lighting, and new front doors in some locations. A fresh coat of paint will go on next month.
SSCP is a family-owned and operated business started by Sunil Dharod. Dharod has been in the restaurant business for decades and became an Applebee’s franchisee in 2008 when acquiring his first location in Texas. Sunil’s son and SSCP President, Chris Dharod, has led in operations and while under his guidance, the company has been a leader in the Applebee’s system for both innovation and operations excellence having earned two of Applebee’s most coveted franchisee awards in recent years – Applebee’s Operator of the Year and Marketing Innovator of the Year.
SSCP, routinely a Top-50 member of the Franchise Times annual list of the largest U.S. franchisees, owns and operates 80 Applebee’s restaurants stretching from Virginia to California with its headquarters in Dallas, Texas. The franchisee and its affiliates also own 43 Sonic Drive-Ins and is the parent company of Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion and franchisor of Cicis Pizza. SSCP has a total of approximately 400 restaurants across 25 states.
While hours of operation vary by location, most of SSCP’s Virginia Applebee’s restaurants are open until 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until midnight on Friday and Saturday (only Galax & Radford respectively close at 10 p.m. and 11 p.m.) All these restaurants offer Half-Price Apps every day after 9 p.m. & Monday through Friday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
As one of the world’s largest casual dining brands, Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill + Bar serves as America’s kitchen table, offering guests a lively dining experience that combines simple, craveable American fare with classic drinks and local drafts. Applebee’s makes it easy for family and friends to connect with one another, whether it’s in a dining room or in the comfort of a living room, Eatin’ Good in the Neighborhood is a familiar and affordable escape from the everyday. Applebee’s restaurants are owned and operated by entrepreneurs dedicated to more than serving great food, but also building up the communities that we call home. From raising money for local charities to hosting community fundraisers, Applebee’s is always Doin’ Good in the Neighborhood. Applebee’s franchise operations consisted of 1,678 Applebee’s restaurants in the United States, two U.S. territories and 11 countries outside the United States as of March 1, 2023. This number does not include seven domestic Applebee’s ghost kitchens (small kitchens with no store-front presence, used to fill off-premise orders) and 15 Applebee’s international ghost kitchens. Applebee’s is franchised by subsidiaries of Dine Brands Global Inc. [NYSE: DIN], which is one of the world’s largest full-service restaurant companies.
