North East Applebee's Locations Continue to Transform with Management Transitions and Promotions

The Rose Group, a leading franchisee of Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar and Corner Bakery Cafe restaurants, is pleased to announce the transfer of Bruce Delong to general manager (GM) of the Wilkes Barre Applebee’s, the relocation of Mike Schutz to executive general manager (EGM) of the West Hazleton Applebee’s, and the promotion of Scott Crook to GM of the Scranton Applebee’s.

In their newly transitioned roles as GMs, Crook and Delong will each oversee four managers and 65 employees in the designated restaurants. Their primary responsibilities include ensuring for and building a guest-focused, passionate culture in the Scranton and Wilkes Barre locations. As EGM, Schutz will be responsible for meeting financial demands of sales and managing the environment of the restaurant. This includes quality recruitment of employees through progressive human resource strategies.

“The strategic move of Bruce and Mike and the promotion of Scott is ideal for our continued efforts to revitalize the restaurants, as each of these individuals are consummate professionals whose dedication to and passion for Applebee’s is unparalleled,” said Jeff Warden, CEO of The Rose Group. “This transition of management will serve as a unique opportunity to strengthen our community feel and remain a neighborhood-friendly establishment.”

Crook has more than 10 years of restaurant management experience. He was a kitchen manager by the age of 18, a GM of Fresno’s Southwest Restaurant and Bar by age 21, an area director for Bennigan’s, then a GM of Logan’s Roadhouse. Crook understands what it takes to manage restaurants successfully and will return to the Scranton Applebee’s as GM

Delong began his career with Applebee’s in 2001 at the Quakertown location. His ability to produce solid results helped him smoothly transition from GM of the Montgomeryville Applebee’s, then to training GM of the Allentown location and into his current role as GM of the Wilkes Barre restaurant. Prior to joining the Applebee’s team, Delong was a food operations manager for Dorney Park for 10 years and a manager at Charlie Brown’s.

Schutz has been with Applebee’s for more than 16 years. His career began assisting the opening team at the Doylestown Applebee’s. He moved on to service manager in West-Hazleton, then to opening GM in Wilkes Barre. He was transferred to Scranton where he was later promoted to EGM. He recently was relocated to EGM of the Bloomsburg location. His knowledge and experience will help him create a fun and thriving environment for his team while in his current role as EGM of the West Hazleton Applebee’s.

All of Delong, Crook and Schutz’s restaurant and management experience, along with their commitment to Applebee’s, will serve as an integral part in revitalizing the Scranton, Wilkes Barre and West Hazleton Applebee’s locations to further enhance the dining experience in these markets.