Applebee's opens in Kuwait

It took Rick Yameen three years to get his first Applebee's International Inc. franchise open, but it finally happened. Yameen, head of Apple Middle East, opened an Applebee's restaurant in Kuwait in late March. The project took so long, Yameen said, because the site had to be purchased from the Kuwaiti government. Another struggle was finding enough help to run the restaurant. He hired servers from the Philippines, Egypt, Lebanon and the Czech Republic because, as Yameen said, "Kuwaitis do not work in service jobs." The restaurant in Kuwait is the first of 15 to 17 restaurants Yameen hopes to open over the next four years in Egypt, Lebanon and Bahrain. His said the next restaurant will open in Cairo in August. Thanks, Easter Bunny Sales of Easter baskets, bonnets and dresses helped same-store sales in Kansas City to jump 4.3 percent in March. Local retailers fared better than those around the nation, which averaged a modest 2.1 percent increase for the month. TeleCheck Retail Index reported that national sales have been affected by the events in Yugoslavia, and the fact that three days of pre-Easter spending occurred in April. The Midwest led the nation with a 3.2 percent gain, followed by the Southeast with a 2.8 percent increase, and the Southwest (which includes Kansas City on TeleCheck's map) with a gain of 2.5 percent. Other cities in the region posted the following gains in same-store sales in March: St. Louis, 4.1 percent; Oklahoma City, 1.1 percent; Dallas/Ft. Worth, 0.8 percent; and Chicago, 3.9 percent. Heard on the street: ? AMC Entertainment Inc. hiked up movie ticket prices above $8 in the Los Angeles area last week, making AMC the highest-priced theater chain in that city. The hike comes after AMC told investors that first-quarter earnings would be "drastically lower" than expected. ? Newly named American Identity has put out its first-ever consolidated catalog featuring Swingster and K-Products merchandise. Company officials hoped the 112-page catalog would be more convenient for customers than having separate catalogs. ? The Lee Co. is hawking its Lee Dungarees to young consumers again this summer with an 11-city tour with ESPN's X Games, including a stop in late May at Mission Center. ? Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. is opening two new tire and service centers in Johnson County in late April. One center is located in Olathe at the intersection of 135th Street and Black Bob Road. The other is in Overland Park at 7050 W. 115th St., just west of the new Sprint Corp. campus. With the new centers, Firestone has 22 location in the Kansas City area. Call Amy Trollinger with tips for Check it Out at 421-5900, ext. 214, or by e-mail to atrollinger@amcity.com.

Kuwait · 17 Apr 1999

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