Applebee’s Story Disputed By Franchisee Representative
The debate and controvesy involving whether or not Picayune should sell liquor by- the-drink continued to roil and generate charges and countercharges.
A franchisee representative, Chris Potter, real estate and development director for Quality Restaurant Concepts, the company which owns the rights to establishing an Applebee’s restaurant here, says that the fact that Picayune does not have a liquor-by-the-drink law here had no bearing on his company not locating a store here. He said the decision to back off was strictly because of a weak economy.
However, the local real estate developer, Robert Thigpen, who said he had talked to a man who represented himself as being a representative of Applebees and other large chains, stood by his story that the representative backed off when told Picayune did not serve liquor, only beer and light wine. Thigpen owns Top of the Hill shopping center at I-59 and Sycamore Road.
In addition, Potter said he was aware that in Picayune restaurants could serve only beer as he began a year’s search for a restaurant location here.
“I looked at Picayune for a year, at property there, and I knew from the get-go that you all only sold beer, and we felt we could make money there. But with the economy, the way it is, we are not doing any developing right now. It was the economy that was the only factor in the decision,” he said.
“We operate in beer-only cities, too,” he said, citing two restaurants in Rankin County where only beer is sold in the restaurant.
He said, howeveer, that the franchise company he represents does investigate the local liquor laws where they locate, but that is not a “premiere” factor involved in making a decision.
Asked point-blank if the lack of liquor-by-the-drink would prevent him from chosing to locate a restaurant here, Potter said, “It would not. If the economy were good, we would move forward if you only served beer. We felt like we could make some money in Picayune before the economy stalled.”
