Applebee's on Route 59 Near Naperville Closes

Melanie Santostefano contributed to this report

You can add the Naperville-area Applebee's to the list of suburban locations that have recently closed their doors. 

On Thursday afternoon, signage was removed, doors were locked and the lights were off at the 449 N. Route 59 Applebee's location in Aurora. Applebee's announced in May that the restaurant franchise was forced to close eight of its Chicago locations as it hopes to "reorganize its operations in Chapter 11 bankruptcy," according to the Chicago Tribune.

The Aurora location was not within that list of eight restaurants, however, a company spokesman told Patch in May that the fate of the Aurora Applebee's, along with 24 other locations, was uncertain.

"There is the potential, depending on the sale of asset rights, for the 25 to remain open, or to close, or a combination of both, but those details won’t be defined until the transaction is closed," Dan Smith, the corporate spokesperson for Applebee’s told Patch last month.

Smith added that the company was waiting for the potential sale of those 25 restaurants, which should be final by Friday, June 28.

A Patch reader said she received an email from the restaurant Wednesday night notifying customers of the closure. 

The Aurora restaurant is also no longer listed on the Applebee's website as of Thursday afternoon.

In April, as required by Illinois law, Apple Illinois-the franchisee that owns the 33 restaurants, sent out warrant notices to officially alert employees about the changes.

In their bankruptcy filing, Applebee's closed eight suburban restaurants, but put up the remaining 25 for sale. The sale would include selling franchisee rights, which means until the transaction is finalized, there is no certainty on the status of the restaurants.