Keep calm and carry on: No Applebee's coming to Northside

A website screenshot purporting to show that an Applebee's is coming to Northside surfaced on the Internet early this week.

It unleashed a social media uproar in the Cincinnati neighborhood, which has fought to define itself by unique, locally owned businesses.

But the screenshot was in fact fake. Tom Linafelt, spokesperson for Applebee's, said there are no new Applebee's coming to the entire Cincinnati region.

And Kathleen Norris, managing principal at Urban Fast Forward, the real estate firm handling the leasing of the 8,000-square-foot retail space now being built at Hamilton Avenue and Blue Rock Street, said there are no plans for an Applebee's in that building.

"We have very clear instructions from clients to respect unique and locally-owned businesses," Norris said. "None of them are a chain."

The social media uproar was actually unintentional. Northside residents Todd McHenry, Stephen Streit and a couple other friends said they were lamenting the fact that there are no bars open in Northside at noon. They joked that an Applebee's should open in the area.

Then, over the weekend, Streit went online and using the web inspector feature changed the coding of the Applebee's website to make it look like an Applebee's was "coming soon" to 4114 Hamilton.

Streit posted a screenshot of the doctored website to McHenry's Facebook wall, which is mostly private, saying something along the lines of, "It's real!" The screenshot shows that the website inspector is open, and the friends didn't think it would be considered authentic, let alone shared.

But the two woke up Monday to see the screenshot was shared several times.

"It was everywhere," McHenry said. "We kept telling people it was a joke, but other people who were reposting had national and global friends. There isn't much you can do to stop it."

The screenshot was later shared on Nextdoor.com, a private social media website for individual communities, as well. It was met with confusion, disbelief, joking and anger.

"Luke Skywalker to Darth Vader when he found out Applebee's was moving into his town on Tattooine," said one Nextdoor user. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO."

Other users suggested boycotting or picketing the restaurant and lamented the fact that Walmart might be next. 5 Dollar Tees took advantage of the social media storm, creating a T-shirt that reads, "I survived the great Northside Applebee's hoax of 2015."

Ollie Kroner, president of the Northside Community Council, said residents want to keep the community defined by unique, locally owned businesses. Residents are excited about the new Gantry development underway at Hamilton and Blue Rock, but they also are nervous about any potential changes.

"I was getting messages from every direction," Kroner said.

The Hamilton Avenue address listed on the fake screenshot is actually that of Club Chameleon, a neighborhood bar and restaurant near the Gantry project. Nick Mitchell, promotions manager at Chameleon, said Facebook users have been constantly tagging him or the restaurant on Facebook.

"To me, as the promotions manager, I think it's great," Mitchell said. "No publicity is bad publicity. It draws more attention to us."

But when he was told that there wasn't an Applebee's coming to the area, Mitchell said he was relieved. Northside is defined by small, family-owned, independent restaurants, and people want to keep it that way, he said.

Believe it or not, McHenry also said he's glad there isn't an Applebee's coming to the neighborhood. He said the community's reaction has provided an interesting commentary about people's feelings on corporate entities and how they use social media.

"I think that an Applebee's in Northside is a horrible idea," McHenry said. "I probably would have had that same angry reaction."

McHenry apologized for all of the confusion, especially to Kroner who received so many phone calls.

"That was not my intention," he said. "We owe him all the beer – at an Applebee's of his choosing."