Why is Delafield Applebee closed? The problem of following accidental evictions remains
Delafield-Drafield’s Applebee has been closed, but for commercial reasons, it remains unclear three days after the fact.
At least, the action achieved in the sudden closure of the restaurant was the unexpected eviction of unpaid rent initiated by the commercial property on 3100 Golf Road on March 25, which was surprising – to some extent, they realized that the process was to be completed.
Mayor Tim Aicher himself spent some time trying to limit the information currently available. Ashill said he discovered the sudden closure and eviction through a memo sent by the Delafield Police Department that assisted the Vauxa County Sheriff’s Office in carrying out the eviction.
This made him wonder what was going on. “I wish I did (know),” he said in a phone interview Friday. “I really didn’t.”
Delafield Applebee falls in the recent eviction process
According to online court records, about three weeks after the Waukesha County Circuit Court took court orders, the property owner of the New York-based Nagawaukee MZL LLC, New York-based Nagawaukee MZL LLC officially evicted the local national restaurant chain.
According to media reports, employees were taken out without warning on Tuesday, including Milwaukee Business Magazine and WISN TV.
The eviction order began with a court summons and complaint on February 13, and finalized the decision to delegate of tenant SBG Apple North VII LLC, who failed to attend the March 3 hearing. Court documents show that tens of thousands of dollars in lease payments were owed and it appears that the door was closed permanently after the eviction.
However, another eviction process hearing this week, called the return date, is scheduled for this week. It is unclear whether the hearing will respond to the eviction orders for the tenant company in a belated manner.
The situation has made itself open, Aicher said he and Drafield City officials were engaged in the speculation when they tried to understand it all. He added that he was not aware of any business issues, such as the lack of patronage, which suggests the possibility of eviction. Even then, he thinks the landlord will choose to avoid leaving vacancies and instead “ride and buy time” with the current tenant until others express interest.
“Usually, you don’t evict someone unless there is another tenant,” Ashill said, admitting that city officials don’t know any details. “The person you know best will be the property owner, and I have no direct route with them.”
The mayor said the eviction has weakened the city key points where the established chain had previously vacated. These include the emergence of a new olive garden that has been operating for decades in Perkins franchise, and the development of bubble car washes on the land of the Hardee fast food franchise.
“We thought our sailing went well and the tenants on the lease were all doing well, and then it was just blue,” Ashill said.
Applebee’s closing ceremony made speculation about the chain
News of the closure of the Delafield Applebee location coincides with other trends and news related to the national and Milwaukee metropolitan markets.
SBG Apple North, also owned by SBG Apple, is located at 2865 S. 108th St., recently closed due to evictions, although still listed as a “temporary close” on its Facebook page.
The Pewaukee location along Capitol Drive was closed in 2024, and the Oak Creek locations at S.13th St. 7135 S. 13th St. were closed for some time due to “health issues” in late 2024. Other locations closed since 2000 include Brookfield and New Berlin locations.
Applebee’s and IHOP’s parent company Dine Brands announced in early March that it plans to jointly venture the two brands. As USA Today reported, according to this concept, dual-brand restaurants can open in the United States, in order to expand the success of Applebee-Ihop restaurants internationally.
Dine Brands also announced in February that its Applebee president Tony Moralejo will step down on March 4. He was replaced by Dine Brands CEO John Peyton as interim president.
Whether this is related to the Applebee enclosed area is not yet known. The effort to contact Applebee company representatives did not immediately succeed.
Contact reporter Jim Riccioli [email protected].
This article originally appeared after the closure of the Milwaukee journal Sentinel: Delafield Applebee, after the eviction of the property owner
