Applebee's club cultureApplebee's club culture

Steve Coomes

Working to wring revenue from an underused daypart, Applebee’s rolled out in August a nationwide initiative dubbed Bee’s Late Night.

Starting at 10 p.m. — or 9 p.m. in Central and Pacific time zones — and running until at least midnight and sometimes much later, the lights inside Applebee’s restaurants are turned down, the music is turned up, food and drink specials take effect and the fun begins.

With its core family customers at home and likely in bed, Applebee’s restaurants turn to entertainment such as karaoke, trivia contests, dancing and theme nights to draw crowds of mostly Millennials, although baby boomers — especially those leaving second-shift jobs — stop by as well.

But photos of, among other activities, lewd dancing...