APPLEBEE'S GIVES NEIGHBORHOOD SPECIALTIES FOR LUNCH AND DINNER

Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar opened in Cape Girardeau last week.

The restaurant at Broadview and Route K offers a number of "neighborhood specialties," including steak or chicken fajitas, riblet platter, Bourbon Street steak, Applebee's House sirloin, and baked whitefish.

"We also serve a number of sandwiches and burgers," said manager Dan Chandler. "We also offer soup-and-salad and soup-and-sandwich combinations."

The desserts include apple-honey cobblers, apple-cheese caramel-crunch cake and other offerings.

He said the restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to midnight Mondays through Thursdays. Saturday hours are 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. and Sunday hours are 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.

The restaurant has a seating capacity of about 190. Approximately 115 people are employed at the restaurant, Chandler said. The employment figure represents both full- and part-time workers.

One of the features of the restaurant is its service bar, which is near the center of the dining room. The restaurant also features numerous decorations, including a carousel horse and several antique items.

"We also feature local items among our decorations," said Chandler. "On one section of the wall we have several old photographs of scenes in downtown Cape Girardeau.

"We contacted area high schools to obtain varsity letters for another section of the wall," he said. "And local golf courses have provided some items."

Also featured in the decor are Southeast Missouri State University athletic uniforms and pictures, photographs of St. Louis Cardinals baseball players, and other baseball memorabilia.

Chandler said the Cape Girardeau Applebee's is owned by De Stocks Number 13 Inc. The facility is the 14th restaurant in Missouri and Illinois for Dennis Stockard, of Cape Girardeau, who is also involved in ownership of El Chico's, Shoney's, Captain D's, Royal N' Orleans, and Broussard's Cajun Cuisine, all in Cape Girardeau.