Applebee's Careers: Jobs, Hiring Age and Pay

Working at Applebee's in 2026

Here's the thing most people don't realize before applying: almost every Applebee's is owned by a franchise company, not by Applebee's itself. That one fact shapes everything below: your pay, your benefits, your schedule and even how you apply depend on the company that owns your restaurant.

The jobs themselves are the same everywhere. Hosts and Carside To Go staff, servers and bartenders out front. Cooks, prep and dishwashers in the kitchen. Managers above both.

Who You'd Actually Work For

When you take a job at Applebee's, you're usually hired by a franchise company, not by Applebee's or its parent, Dine Brands. The biggest is Flynn Group, which runs hundreds of Applebee's across the country. Others run just a handful.

Why it matters: the franchisee sets the pay, the benefits, the uniform and the scheduling rules. Two Applebee's in the same city can offer quite different jobs. Moving from one to the other can mean leaving one employer and joining another. Ask in your interview who the employer is and what benefits come with the job.

Applebee's Jobs: What Each One Involves

Host and Carside To Go

The usual first job. Hosts seat guests and manage the wait. Carside To Go staff check, bag and carry out takeout orders, which at a busy restaurant is a big share of the evening. It's on your feet, it's outside in any weather, and it's where mistakes like a missing sauce get caught or don't.

Server

Take orders, run food, keep several tables happy at once. Most of your income is tips, so your shifts matter: evenings and weekends pay better than a Tuesday lunch. You'll need to know the menu well, including the current deals and which items contain common allergens.

Bartender

Makes drinks for the whole restaurant and serves guests at the bar. Happy hour and late evenings are the busiest times. You'll need to be old enough to serve alcohol in your state, which is 21 in many places.

Line Cook and Prep Cook

Prep cooks get ingredients ready before service. Line cooks work a station, grill, fryer or sauté, and cook orders as tickets come in. It's hot, fast work, usually paid a straight hourly wage instead of tips.

Dishwasher

Keeps plates, pans and the kitchen clean, and often helps with prep. It's a common way into kitchen work.

Manager

Kitchen managers, assistant managers and general managers run shifts, schedules, ordering and hiring. Many start as hourly staff and move up. Expect long weeks, nights and holidays.

How to Apply for a Job at Applebee's

Apply online. Applebee's careers page links to openings, and most are posted by the franchisee that owns the restaurant, not by Applebee's itself. Some restaurants also take walk-in applications or have a QR code at the door.

The application itself is short. Expect to give your contact details, the role you want, your availability day by day, whether you're old enough to serve alcohol in your state, and any previous jobs. A resume isn't usually part of the online form for hourly roles, though it helps for a manager job.

From there it's usually a phone call or message, then a short in-person interview with a manager covering your availability, any experience and how you'd handle a difficult guest. It usually moves quickly, often within a week or two.

What helps: open availability, especially evenings and weekends. Restaurants hire around the shifts that are hardest to fill, so saying yes to Friday nights moves you up the list.

Applying in person: go mid-afternoon, between the lunch and dinner rushes, and ask for the manager. Turning up at 7 PM on a Saturday means nobody has time to talk to you.

Pay and Tips

Pay depends on your state and your employer, so we don't publish a single number. The rules behind it are worth knowing.

Tipped jobs

Under federal law, an employer can pay tipped staff as little as $2.13 an hour, as long as tips bring them to at least the $7.25 federal minimum wage. If they don't, the employer has to make up the difference. Many states set a higher tipped wage. Some states, including Alaska, California, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington, require the full state minimum wage before tips.

Tip-outs

Servers commonly share part of their tips with bartenders and support staff. How much, and on what, is set by the restaurant. Ask about it in your interview, because it changes your take-home pay.

Kitchen jobs

Cooks, prep and dishwashers are normally paid an hourly wage at or above the local minimum wage.

Benefits

Meal discounts, health insurance, retirement plans and early pay access all vary by franchisee. Ask what's offered and when you become eligible.

What Age Does Applebee's Hire? (16, 18 and 21)

16 for host, dishwasher, Carside To Go and prep jobs at most restaurants. Federal rules limit the hours under-18s can work and keep them away from some equipment, and your state may add more.

18 or older for servers in most states, because servers carry drinks to tables. Some states set a higher age.

21 for bartenders in many states, and bartending at Applebee's generally means being 21.

The franchisee can set its own minimums above the legal ones, so check the job listing.

Working at Applebee's: Frequently Asked Questions