Brookwood Applebee's to close

The Brookwood Applebee's will be closing on Feb. 1.

The restaurant has been operating for more than 25 years. It was the first of the chain's locations in the Birmingham area.

"After this many years with the Brookwood Mall leasing company, we were not given an option to renew our lease," franchisee Fred Gustin and CEO Kurt Guttshall wrote in a letter to customers. "We were just told we would be leaving because they had a better offer from another company."

Gustin also wrote that they are looking for a new location in the area to build a new location to serve its customers.