Howell Applebee's Reopens After New Year's Day Fire

HOWELL, NJ — If you've been hankering to get in on that Applebee's all-you-can-eat riblets special that's running right now but didn't feel like driving to another town, there's good news: the Howell Commons location has reopened.

The Howell Applebee's, which employs 75 people, was forced to close after a fire broke out in the kitchen on New Year's Day.

Virginia Moran, the restaurant manager, said it was a small grease fire that was limited to the kitchen. But extinguishing it meant firefighters had to remove the exhaust hood over the cooking area.

"They had to go in the wall to see if there was fire in the wall," she said, and had to remove the hood in the process. "Once you break the seal on the hood, it has to be replaced," and that takes time as the hoods are built to order.

There was some smoldering inside the wall that the firefighters were able to extinguish, she said. The clean-up and work to return to operation has been underway since then.

"I've been here every day," since she was notified about the fire at 7 a.m. on New Year's, and the rest of the staff was happy to be back at work on Friday, she acknowledged.

If you go, they are operating with a temporary kitchen and a limited menu while they wait for the new hood to be installed, a process that takes about three weeks.

"We're about halfway through the wait," she said.

"People can still get their boneless wings," as well as the all-you-can-eat specials that Applebee's is advertising for chicken fingers, riblets and fried shrimp.

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Main photo via Google Maps. Additional photos by Southard Fire Company First Assistant Chief Steven Hadgkiss, published with permission