The “Fancy Like” Singer May Be Opening His Own Applebee’s Location, Thanks to the Song’s Success

A new chapter is being added to the Cinderella story that began when Walker Hayes and his daughter took his 2021 single Fancy Like to TikTok last summer. According to the country singer, he’s in talks with Applebee’s to open what would only be the chain’s second restaurant in Nashville — and it’s gonna be fancy.

Hayes shared the news with country radio hosts Gunner & Cheyenne of Phoenix’s KMLE Country 107.9 while promoting his new single Y’all Life during a recent episode of their On Demand podcast. While he had few details to offer, he said that there had been “talk of us for real opening [an Applebee’s] down on Broadway in Nashville. Like a “fancy-like” Applebee’s.”

The new partnership would mark the second time Applebee’s execs acknowledge the impact that the viral tune has had on their brand. Shortly after Hayes posted the clip of him and his daughter’s choreography to his then-new single, the song began trending on TikTok. And according to the Los Angeles Times, the song’s success expanded to Spotify, where it garnered an impressive 50 million before being picked up by radio stations across the country.

Fancy Like soon became the biggest song of Hayes’ career, holding the second-longest streak of 2021 atop the Billboard Hot Country Songs list and even reaching the #3 position on the all-genre Hot 100 chart. By August 2021, Applebee’s incorporated the viral hit — and several of the TikTok videos that used it — into a commercial. Hayes’ shoutout also prompted the company to resurrect the Oreo shake, which had been discontinued in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

So if you’ve ever wondered whether TikTok is really worth the hype that the younger generation makes it out to be, Hayes will probably be the first one to tell you that it absolutely is.

Would you travel to Nashville for a “fancy” Applebee’s experience?