As soon as a land lease is finalized, Applebee’s International will begin construction of a new Applebee’s Neighborhood Bar & Grill restaurant in Albert Lea on north Bridge Avenue near I-90.

Friday, January 12, 2001

As soon as a land lease is finalized, Applebee’s International will begin construction of a new Applebee’s Neighborhood Bar & Grill restaurant in Albert Lea on north Bridge Avenue near I-90. It will be located in the parking area in front of Slumberland Furniture and Sears just north of Hy-Vee Food Store.

The site was confirmed Wednesday by Cathie Koch, spokeswoman for Applebee’s International. She said her company is planning a 3,900 square-foot restaurant and bar that could break ground for construction as early as the spring.

&uot;We’re definitely interested in the site,&uot; Koch said. &uot;We’re just now working on the final details. We’re looking forward to coming to Albert Lea.&uot;

Koch said that the establishment will be corporately owned and geared toward a smaller community.

&uot;It will be one of our smaller restaurants with 136 seats. Most Applebee’s, like our locations in Austin and Owatonna, seat more than 160 and have a bigger square footage,&uot; Koch said. &uot;This Applebee’s will have a slightly smaller management team and staff.&uot;

The restaurant will not take long to construct, said Koch. Depending on the cooperation of weather and other factors, it could be built in as little as six months.

&uot;We’ll be looking at hiring servers and bartenders for the restaurant sometime in the summer, though I can’t guarantee that exact timing,&uot; Koch said.

Applebee’s International opened 125 restaurants last year, said Koch. Many of them are franchised, but most Minnesota locations are corporately owned.