Applebee’s franchisee: This awful time has changed restaurant patterns, perspective for the better Updated Jan 28, 2021; Facebook Share STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. In these COVID-19 times, “We’re all in this together,” maintains Zane Tankel, CEO of Apple-Metro Foods, a local Applebee’s franchisee in the region. He additionally says the pandemic has changed patrons’ patterns and perspectives for the good. “We’re much more inclined to think about health and ‘fresh.’ We’ve noticed people are very nice,” said Tankel. He explained, “We’re having people who are aware of each other as people, with a respect for each other that didn’t exist January 2020.”