MILFORD - Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar will open in Milford on April 3.

And although its sign in the Milford Plaza Shopping Center is a new sight along U.S. 113, the restaurant's manager hopes to blend into Milford as much as possible.

"It says 'neighborhood' in our name," said Jim Sechrist, Applebee's general manager. "I want to be about the neighborhood as much as possible."

Being about the neighborhood means decorating the restaurant with Milford memorabilia, including pictures of Delaware Gov. Ruth Ann Minner, a Milford native, and the Abbott Shipyard on the Mispillion River, Mr. Sechrist said.

Images of Washington, Baltimore and Philadelphia sports teams will abound.


Being about the neighborhood also means helping schools and other local groups raise money for their work and projects.

For example, Applebee's has invited some Milford-area residents to a free sampling on April 1, but it will ask guests to donate $5 to Carlisle Fire Co, which is tens of thousands of dollars behind on its 2005 fund-raising.

Unlike Applebee's restaurants in Seaford and Camden, the Milford restaurant is not part of a franchise. It is owned by Applebee's company itself, Mr. Sechrist said.

After studying Delaware, the company identified Milford as an "under-served" area, and decided to place its restaurant here, he said.

When it opens, the restaurant will employ about 80 people, about half of whom it had hired by March 3, he said. Anyone interested in working at Applebee's may stop by the trailer parked outside the restaurant and ask for an application, he said.



Specific skills are not required.

"I am trying to fill this place with the nicest people I can find," Mr. Sechrist said. "That's a goal, to have the nicest staff."

He said Applebee's can teach skills to anyone it hires, but it can't teach the person to be nice.

The restaurant will serve food the general manager described as "Americana with a Southwest flair," which will include burgers, steaks, salads and a line of diet-friendly foods endorsed by Weight Watchers, he said.

Unlike similar chains, such as T.G.I. Friday's and Ruby Tuesday's, Applebee's will provide catering and work with groups, such as parent-teacher organizations, to arrange fund-raising events, he added.

A Williamsport, Pa. native, Mr. Sechrist has spent eight years working for Applebee's, including time as general manager of the Seaford franchise, he said.
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