photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

The former Applebee's building at 2520 Iowa St. is pictured on April 18, 2023.

I’ve never figured out how to grow a pig short enough to produce a “riblet,” but it has never been a problem because Lawrence has always had an Applebee’s. No more. Applebee’s has closed its last Lawrence location.

Workers on Tuesday morning were removing equipment, and the Applebee’s sign already had been removed from the restaurant’s building at 2520 Iowa St. A sign on the door reported the Lawrence location had permanently closed, and it urged diners to visit one of the chain’s Kansas City locations.

Applebee’s, of course, once was one of the country’s largest sit-down chain restaurants. It focused on being a neighborhood bar and grill, serving everything from steaks to its signature riblets, a type of rib tip that looks like a miniature slab of spare ribs.

For a time, the company — which used to have its corporate headquarters in the K.C. metro — operated two restaurants in Lawrence. The south Iowa Street location was the original, but there also was one at the corner of Sixth and Monterey Way, where the Tommy’s Express Car Wash is now.

No word on what caused the decision to exit the Lawrence market, although sales totals usually are behind such moves. The Lawrence location also had the unfortunate distinction of bringing some negative publicity to the brand.

We reported in March 2022 — when gasoline prices were soaring — how multiple employees of the Lawrence Applebee’s were quitting after they found an email from a supervisor urging the restaurant to begin hiring employees at lower wages, under the theory that people are becoming more desperate to take a job as fuel prices increase.

That article got national attention, and Applebee’s corporate owner rebuked the franchise operator of the Lawrence location.

Applebee’s corporate owner is Dine Brands Global, which also owns the Fuzzy’s Taco Shop and IHOP brands. I haven’t seen any national reports that would indicate that the Lawrence closing is part of a bigger restructuring for the company, although its Applebee’s division did get a new president at the beginning of the year.

Probably the bigger question is what will become of the Applebee’s building. Chain restaurant buildings can sometimes be a tough location to fill quickly. The Applebee’s building will mark at least the third vacant chain restaurant building. Two sit at the busy corner of 31st and Iowa — the one that briefly was a Torchy’s Tacos location after having been built as a Longhorn Steakhouse, and the one next door that used to house On the Border Mexican restaurant. The On the Border building, right on the corner of two highly traveled roads, has been empty since 2019.

A similar situation exists on 23rd Street. The site of the former Qdoba Mexican Grill, which is a bit east of the intersection of 23rd and Iowa streets, has been vacant since 2019.

We’ll see what interest the Applebee’s location attracts — and what rumors of new chain restaurants are to come.

•••

When it comes to anticipated chain restaurants, Whataburger has been near the top of the watch list for many Lawrence residents. I reported in June that Whataburger had filed plans at City Hall to build a new restaurant building at 707 W. 23rd St., which is the site of the Mi Ranchito Mexican restaurant.

City officials approved the key zoning for the site many months ago, yet 10 months after the plans were filed, the site is still operating as a Mexican restaurant.

Despite the slow movement, it sure appears that the project is moving forward. The biggest sign came recently when a Texas-based real estate company completed the purchase of the real estate. The local real estate broker confirmed to me that the Texas real estate company is the one connected to Whataburger interests.

It also remains clear that Whataburger definitely has plans for Lawrence. KMO Burger LLC — the Kansas City-based Whataburger franchise that includes Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes as an owner — lists Lawrence in its “coming soon” section. However, the company’s website adds a little intrigue because, of all the future locations, the Lawrence location is the only one that lists the address as to be determined.

I assume the purchase of the site is a solid sign that the 23rd Street location is where Whataburger will land, but it’s still worth keeping an eye on. I’ll keep an eye out for news about a Mi Ranchito move and for other development filings that will be required before Whataburger can begin construction.

The Whataburger website projects a 2024 opening for the Lawrence store. At the moment, it looks like the Lawrence store is last on the list of about eight new Whataburger locations that the Mahomes company is in the process of building and opening.

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

The site at 707 W. 23rd Street, which has been approved for a Whataburger restaurant, is shown on April 18, 2023.