Applebee's closes its doors in Norfolk

NORFOLK - After a week of speculative Facebook posts and community rumors, Norfolk's Applebee's is officially locking its doors.

Multiple employees confirmed to News Channel Nebraska on Monday that the restaurant was permanently closing. Some were offered positions at other Applebee’s locations, but most Applebee’s employees were looking for jobs as of Tuesday.

Dave Phillips, marketing director for Applebee's franchisee Thrive Restaurant Group, confirmed the closure in an email Monday evening. Phillips' email indicated that the restaurant had closed on Monday, while some employees noted that they expected their final day of work to be Tuesday.

The Norfolk Applebee's location had been open for almost 17 years.

No specific reason for the closure has been made public by Thrive, but Applebee's employees told News Channel Nebraska that they were told low sales led the franchisee to cancel its lease for the building.