Lexington restaurant management company Thomas & King announced Friday that it is selling its Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill and Bar franchise operations, comprising more than 80 stores.
The sale to RMH Franchise Corp. of Lincoln, Neb., is expected to close before the end of the year.
RMH already owns and operates 60 Applebee’s restaurants in 10 states. This acquisition will bring its total number of Applebee’s restaurants to more than 140, making it the second-largest Applebee’s franchisee in the nation.
RMH said in a news release that it intends to hire many of the employees currently working in the Thomas & King corporate office in Lexington. Thomas & King has been the nation’s 19th-largest restaurant franchise company and the sixth-largest Applebee’s franchisee, with more than 5,500 employees, 88 Applebee’s restaurants and six Johnny Carino’s Italian restaurants in Kentucky and several other states.