Woman claims that she was denied the role of CEO at Applebee’s before buying the company

The former IHOP chief was described as a “cold stone killer” for a daring commercial decision that she made after having said that she had been burned by the CEO and president of Applebee, years ago.

During an appearance in April 2025 on the Matthews mentality podcastJulia Stewart recalled a conversation she had had with the head of the Applebee after Ihop bought the company for an impressive $ 2.3 billion in the 00 years.

Stewart explained that she had previously worked as president of Applebee. In this role, she would have been promised that she would be appointed CEO if she could run the business.

She took up the challenge and launched the hard work before she allegedly obtained bad news.

“So I went out and I started with a new team, the best I can find. And to date, most of them are good friends. But what we have done was quite remarkable,” she said about her team at Applebee.

After about three years, she had managed to reshape the business and transform it. This led to a meeting with the old CEO and president where she made news that changed life.

“I go with my little graphic, right? And I have the graphic in the right direction. The stock has doubled. Life is beautiful. Everything is going very well. I could not be more proud of the team. And I said:” I think it is time to be CEO “”, she recalls.

Continuing, Stewart said: “And he is very reflecting; he stops a minute. I’m sure it was 10 seconds. It was like a minute and a half. And he said:” No. “And I thought he meant:” No, not today “. And I laughed and I said:” Well, no. And he said, “No, never”. “”

She asked why, and he told her that he “[didn’t] must have an answer. “”

When asked how she replied, Stewart explained that she had stepped back because she did not want to react angry.

“I said,” I’m going to apologize. I’m going to go home early, and I’m going to think about this conversation “, this is the only thing I could think of. And I came back the next day and I said:” You know, I thought about it, and I think you are responsible for everything. But you don’t give me the title so I’m going to go ahead and go, “she said.” And he said: “Well, no. You can’t leave. If you leave the stock, Will Tank.” ”

In the end, the pair concluded an agreement where Stewart “would remain for a few months” to find a way to make the team transition without causing a financial ruin.

Subsequently, she ended up taking the job at Ihop, and she spent “good good years” working to change the business.

“When I arrived, it had not had comparable growth,” she said, adding that it was “really in difficulty” and lacked “brand image”.

After succeeding, she realized that they should buy another brand to continue to grow.

“I went to the board of directors and I said:” We must probably look for an acquisition because if we do not find it, we will be ripe for the buyout. But I promise you, I will be meticulous and thoughtful, myself and the team, looking for something that will be a wow “,” she said.

While she was doing research, she realized that Applebee could be “really interesting”.

“Now, obviously, in the end, you don’t take $ 2.3 billion for revenge. You don’t do this,” said Stewart. “But we borrowed $ 2.3 billion. We bought Applebee’s.”

After being formalized, she said that she had called the CEO and president of Applebee’s said that she had bought the company. As they have acquired, she said that they “did not need two of us” in leadership and that she “was going to have to let you go”.