All good things must come to an end. All mediocre things must also come to an end, and Sunday saw the end of the Richmond Road Applebee’s location, as the restaurant held its closing ceremony.

As is tradition, the ceremony featured the extinguishing of the Applebee’s flame grill by line cook Kevin, as well as a flamboyant dance routine by the waitstaff. The ceremony also included the official handover of the “going out of business” sign to the Denny’s on Nicholasville Road, which, let’s be honest, we all hope is the next restaurant to hold a closing ceremony.

While tasteful isn’t an accurate way to describe the cuisine at Applebee’s, it was the word local diner Randy Miller used to describe the closing ceremony itself. Miller, who’s attended every restaurant closing ceremony in Lexington for the past decade, praised Applebee’s on their effort, but also said the ceremony didn’t quite stack up with some of the ones he’s seen over the years.

“I’d say Coba Cocina’s from earlier this year was probably my favorite,” Miller told us. “It was just so extravagant. I mean, when they let the water out of those jellyfish tanks it was extremely poignant. You kind of had to be there. I’ll be honest, it kind of stung a little bit knowing that was the end.”