Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar

I'm giving it a five star because I have been coming here since 2012, and ever since I have no problem with it, I usually order Steak medium rare with mash potato's and it tastes good. I'm not a picky eater but I don't have bad taste either. As far as the atmosphere everyone seems to be having fun and have never seen anyone up to no good everything looks pretty chill, people are drinking, eating and laughing, everyone looks decent not trashy. It must be very different since (Todd S.) had mentioned.
P.S. There is WIFI in Applebee's now! :)

If you're in Tyler and happen to think to yourself, "Hey, lets eat good in the neighborhood and go to Applebee's!", listen to what I am about to tell you:

DO NOT GO TO THE TYLER APPLEBEE'S.

This place is, quite literally, the worst. If one had to compile a list of the most tragic things that have happened in human history, it would go something like:
1. Holocaust
2. Japanese Tsunami
3. Tyler Applebee's.

I'm hesitant to place the Applebee's in Tyler behind those other two catastrophes, but in deference to the amount of life lost I placed it at number three. However, in terms of human suffering involved, I'm sure that the Applebee's in Tyler takes the cake. I've had several bad experiences at this establishment. You know, the standard things you would expect from a generic chain restaurant that serves bland food, offers poor service, and makes you wonder how many ugly waitresses can be hired at one location, but the camel's back was finally broken during my most recent outing. Let me preface this by telling those unfamiliar with this place that Applebee's becomes a popular watering hole on the weekends, due to Tyler's extreme lack of acceptable bars, combined with the relative cheap prices at which Applebee's offers its drinks.

So it was on a Friday evening that I, along with a couple of friends, decided to venture into the big city and have ourselves a time. We started by having dinner at Chuy's down the street. The wait time was about 20 minutes (not bad for a Friday night at 8), and was easily passed with a delicious margarita. The food was good and another margarita was ordered, after which we left, making our time spent at Chuy's about an hour. Why is this relevant, you may ask. Well, funny you should bring that up. You see, about 10:20 my comrades and I decided to go to the lovely Applebee's located at 5502 South Broadway. Upon walking in the door we asked for a table of three. Moments later the manager walked up to us and told us, "I've received a report that you three have been drinking at Chuy's for the past 2 1/2 hours. So, I can't serve you alcohol here." Feel free to re-read that, because I'm not pulling your leg. That actually happened. Let me reiterate:

We were REFUSED service at Tyler Applebee's by the manager, Mark Lowry, because he had "received a report" that we had been drinking at ANOTHER RESTAURANT prior to coming to his restaurant.

I literally thought the guy was pulling some sort of prank. I kept looking around for Ashton Kutcher or some cameras to pop out of the bushes. Mind you, at this point in the evening we had had 3-4 drinks over a several hour period, none of us were drunk or acting rowdy in any way. FURTHERMORE, while we had eaten dinner at Chuy's several hours earlier, we were not there for 2.5 hours, as his secret source supposedly told him. Apparently this clown had a former employee that works at Chuy's and told him that some people had been drinking at Chuy's and had left to go to Applebee's, and Mark, using his impressive deductive reasoning, assumed that it had to be us.

I have drank at several places, to be modest, over my lifetime, but have never been refused service by a manager (Mark Lowry) prior to even having a drink at the bar, without exhibiting any type of drunk behavior, and solely on a "tip" received by a third party. Look, I'm a reasonable guy and I know when I am being obnoxious or drunk or whatever, and it certainly doesn't happen after 3 drinks. Had we stumbled in and been loud, I would understand his hesitation to serve us alcohol. That didn't happen.

In conclusion, shame on you Mark Lowry. It goes without saying that I will never again darken the door of Tyler Applebee's, and I would encourage you to do the same. It's bad enough that the City of Tyler forces you to go to a restaurant to drink alcohol, rather than buying it at a store and drinking safely at home, but now we find out that there is an informal underground network of restaurant workers keeping tabs on who is drinking at which restaurant and how much. Which would be fine enough, if they were getting it right. Perhaps we were the victims of mistaken identity, or perhaps Mark Lowry is a giant dick and Applebee's is the physical embodiment of the venereal wart that forms at the edge of Satan's anus. I'll go with the latter, but you decide for yourself.

To let your voice be heard about Applebee's unacceptable business practices described here, you may file a formal complaint on their website:

<a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.applebees.com%2Fabout-us%2Fcontact-us&s=0a53b91cef0f5580df9e0b3fabad0bb745a4ec736665bd047008272d7ee3096b" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.applebees.com…</a>

Or you may call the Tyler Applebee's directly and ask for Mark Lowry:

Phone: (903) 509-4848

Or you may contact Mark Lowry directly on his LinkedIn page:

<a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fpub%2Fmark-lowry%2F28%2F213%2F70b&s=80dd3c5eba8745a05dcfcbb8201f68a9ecce00b9a0e84621f3935c262a633b3d" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.linkedin.com/…</a>

I would also advise you to file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, along with me. You may do that here:

<a href="/redir?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbb.org%2Fconsumer-complaints%2Ffile-a-complaint%2Ffind-business%2Fname%2FAPPLEBEES%2FTYLER-TX%2F&s=b9cfa34f7c0f56189c37e358e9a03f262bb2781735d531d023bab8dad11d386f" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">https://www.bbb.org/cons…</a>

Cheers. Don't go to Applebee's.

I know what you are thinking....Why is this guy giving a chain like Applebee's 4 stars?
Is the food really *that* good? Not really, but it's decent and predictable.
Go for dinner on a Wed-Sat night. Grab a table in the bar. Sip on a High Life draft. Then try to blend in and people watch. You see all types, and it's never a dull moment when people walk through the front door. It's like "People of Wal-Mart" on crack. For even more LuLz, stick around when they bring in a DJ for late night. Really, I'm not kidding. A DJ @ Applebees.