Contrary to what people may believe, there can too much of a good thing. And country singer Walker Hayes knows all too well.
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In 2021, Hayes released his Billboard Top 10 and Grammy nominated song “Fancy Like.” The song, which Hayes said was about his family in a 2021 interview with CMT, was a runaway hit thanks to TikTok.
“There’s no pretentiousness there. It’s just who we are. When you get to be that honest and the public reacts, it’s a real magical thing,” he said.
But beyond the TikTok dances he used to promote the song, one of the things that made it popular was name checking popular restaurant chain Applebee’s.
“Yeah, we fancy like Applebee’s on a date night / Got that Bourbon Street steak with the Oreo shake / Get some whipped cream on the top, too / Two straws, one check, girl, I got you,” he sings.
The brand appreciated the shout out so much, they gave Hayes and his family a gold card, which guarantees lifelong free Applebee’s. But maybe lifelong has an expiration date.
Hayes talked with Taste of Country, and they had to ask how often he and his family were still going to the restaurant.
“You know, man, Applebee’s was so good to us, and they always are…but you know, you fatigue of a restaurant, you know what I mean?” he responded.
He actually compared his feelings about Applebee’s to how he feels seeing a Macaroni Grill after working there when he was younger.
“I used to work at Macaroni Grill, and I mean the food is solid and the service is amazing — their whole brand is amazing — but if I just smell the Macaroni Grill then I need to drive to another town,” he quipped. “And I think we’re there on Applebee’s.”
Hayes said his family “crushed” their time at Applebee’s “so hard.”
“We did meet and greets there, we’ve had to-go boxes with steaks, we’ve had so many melted Oreo shakes, you would not believe.” Now, he said he’d be “fine if I never ate another Oreo again.”
“It’s funny how something great and just awesome, and one day you just wake up and it’s just like, ‘I can’t, I can’t do it again.’ We’re taking an Applebee’s break now.”
But they’re still keeping their gold card in his wife Laney’s wallet just in case.