Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar is expected to shutter as many as 135 stores before year's end, highlighting the chain's ongoing struggle to stay in business in recent years, according to multiple reports. DineEquity, Applebee's parent company, announced Thursday that it planned to close between 105 and 135 of its nearly 2,000 locations in the U.S. by the end of the fiscal year, CBS Boston reported. Earlier this year, the restaurant's parent company only projected 40 to 60 locations to close, the report said. There are nearly 60 Applebee's locations in New Jersey. It is not known at this time if any are expected to close as part of the announcement. Applebee's brand president, John Cywinski, reportedly told investors during a telephone call on Thursday that the locations needed to be closed as the company attempts to rebrand itself, which he cited as a primary issue that needed to be addressed. Applebee's isn't alone in its woes.