NJ Applebee's Says Kids Eat Free, In Response To Bans Elsewhere

TINTON FALLS, NJ — The owners of the largest chain of Applebee's restaurants in New Jersey are seizing on last week's announcement from a Tinton Falls restaurant that it will no longer allow children under the age of 10 inside.

Instead, Applebee's says they will serve children for free, Feb. 19 - 26.

"NJ restaurant bans kids — Applebee’s says come eat free," read the Applebee's media announcement, released Wednesday.

Kurt Pahlitzsch, vice president of casual dining at Doherty Enterprise, declined to give his opinion on Nettie's House of Spaghetti's Feb. 9 decision to ban kids.

"The restaurant business is hard enough as it is; I will not criticize someone else in the industry. I leave everyone to their own choices," he said Wednesday. "And I put myself in their shoes. I'm sure they have their reasons for doing what they are doing. But we've always enjoyed having all families in our restaurants."

"We just want families to know they are always welcome," he continued. "President's Day weekend is coming up; even spring break to some of our markets. We thought it was a great time to let people know that kids and families are welcome here."

From Feb. 19 - Feb. 26 all children brought into a Doherty-owned Applebee's will be given a free meal. This will be given with the purchase of one adult entree, and this offer only applies to Doherty-owned Applebee's in New Jersey, and not in any other state.

Doherty's owns 36 Applebee's franchises in New Jersey, including all the Applebee's in the northern half of the state and extending as far south as Manahawkin. A full list of the participating restaurants is below.

Nettie's cited safety for their servers carrying trays of food as their number-one reason for banning kids. There was plenty of backlash from the public, but also praise from many diners, saying they would now choose to eat at Nettie's specifically for the child-free atmosphere.

Nettie's owners have so far declined to speak to any members of the media.

While Applebee's often runs "kids-eat-free" deals, next week will be the longest period they have ever run such a promotion. Pahlitzsch admitted the restaurant really has no way of preventing a parent and a child from coming back multiples times, or days in a row, for free kids' meals.

"When we ran similar promotions like this, we've seen the same people come back more than once," he said. "It happens. This is a difficult economy."

The offer from Feb. 19 - Feb. 26 applies to the following 36 Applebee's in New Jersey:

• Piscataway Applebee's on Centennial Avenue
• Tinton Falls Applebee's on Park Road
• Paramus Applebee's on Rt. 17
• Brick Plaza Applebee's
• Totowa Applebee's on Rt. 46 west
• Applebee's in the Woodbridge Center Mall
• Parsippany Applebee's on Rt. 46 east
• Toms River Applebee's in the Ocean County Mall
• Clifton Applebee's on Rt. 3 East in Clifton Commons
• Applebee's in the Manalapan Epicentre on Rt. 9
• Applebee's in the Bridgewater Promenade
• The Edison Applebee's on Rt. 1 south
• Milltown Applebee's on Ryders Lane
• Linden Applebee's off Rt. 1
• Manahawkin Applebee's on Rt. 72 west
• Howell Applebee's on Rt. 9 north
• Ocean Twp. Applebee's on Rt. 66
• Hillsborough Applebee's on Rt. 206
• Phillipsburg Applebee's on Rt. 22
• Middletown Applebee's on Rt. 35
• Union Applebee's on Morris Avenue
• Butler Applebee's on Rt. 23
• Hackettstown Applebee's on Mountain Avenue
• Kearny Applebee's on Passaic Avenue
• Hackensack Applebee's on Hackensack Avenue
• Newton Applebee's
• Jersey City Applebee's at the Hudson Mall
• Mt. Olive Applebee's
• Newark Applebee's
• Rockaway Applebee's on Rt. 46
• Lacey Applebee's in Forked River
• North Bergen Applebee's
• Manchester Applebee's on Rt. 70
• Garfield Applebee's on Passaic Street
• Applebee's at the Jersey Gardens Mall
• Clark Applebee's