Mustang's Old Applebee's Is Becoming Three Places, and the Road Out Front Is Changing Too

The building next to IHOP and Zaxby's on State Highway 152 has sat dark for a year and a half. Applebee's opened there in 2013. In spring 2025 a sign on the door told diners it was closing as of April 28. At the time, Central Oklahoma Weeklies reported that no business license had been filed for a new restaurant and that the city expected the space to stay vacant for now.

That has changed. The city manager's report dated October 2, 2026 lists three separate tenant finish-out permits for the former Applebee's building. The same report says the city has money lined up to replace the signal equipment at every intersection on SH-152, and that work is expected to start this fall. So two layers of the same road are being rebuilt on the same calendar. The businesses along it are filling in, and the system that moves traffic past them is being replaced.

One building, three permits

A single sit-down grill is turning into three counter-service businesses. Here is where each one stood as of the October 2 city manager's report:

None of the three has a public opening date yet. The status column is the best guide to the order they might open. Mo' Bettahs and Wingstop are both at the inspection stage inside the building. 7 Brew had just poured footings, which suggests its drive-thru needs new construction on the site and not just interior finish work.

The address is worth knowing if you're giving someone directions. A 2020 Mustang Times story placed the restaurant at 1020 E. State Highway 152. For most locals, "next to IHOP and Zaxby's" will still be the easier landmark.

The intersections out front are getting new equipment

A busier building means more turning traffic, and the signals those cars wait at are next in line for work.

In March 2026 the city announced a $560,000 grant from the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments. The money comes from ACOG's Air Quality Grant Program and is meant for signal synchronization along SH-152. The October report adds detail. The grant covers 80% of the project cost, which puts the full job at roughly $700,000. It will replace the controllers, conflict monitoring equipment and vehicle detection equipment at all of the intersections along SH-152 in Mustang.

The city's estimate is the number to hold onto. Once the project is done, the city expects congestion delay on SH-152 in Mustang to drop by 20% to 30%. City staff were still picking the new signal system when the report came out, and equipment replacement is "anticipated to begin later this Fall." That timing lines up with the three new tenants coming online. If you drive 152 at rush hour, the stretch you know is about to get more destinations and different signal timing within about the same few months.

Underneath the road, one job is already finished

Some of the corridor work is already done. Contractors have finished a 16-inch waterline along State Highway 152, running from just west of Mustang Road to Clear Springs. Part of the funding came from American Rescue Plan Act infrastructure money. Another part came from Community Project Funding requested through Congressman Frank Lucas's office.

That west end of the corridor is also where this fall's road work begins. Resurfacing on Clear Springs Road, from Southwest 89th Street up to SH-152, had been postponed because crews and equipment weren't available. The city then set the start for October 14 so the work would land during Fall Break and stay out of school traffic. The report doesn't list closures, detours or a finish date. If Clear Springs is part of your route to 152, plan a little extra time until the new surface is down.

The side streets are filling in too

The old Applebee's is the most visible change, but other storefronts and lots off SH-152 have filled this fall too. From the October 2 report:

• Dunkin, 331 N. Mustang Rd. The store was finished, with a grand opening expected October 3. Dunkin's store page lists daily hours of 4:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• Reign Athletics, 600 E. SH 152. This cheer and gymnastics building received final occupancy. It sits behind Chicken Express and Freddy's.
• H2 Physical Therapy, 321 N. Mustang Rd. Remodeling is finished.
• Jets Plus, 1700 E. SH 152. This escrow company opened its office.
• Symes Lane now has a small cluster. Champion Pest Control opened at 324 S. Symes Ln. Broncho Towing finished its new location at 508 S. Symes Ln. Smitty's Garage has poured the slab for a 6,000-square-foot auto shop at 501 S. Symes Ln.

Taken together, these show the corridor filling outward. New businesses are landing on the highway itself, on Mustang Road just north of it, and on the service streets behind it, all in the same reporting period.

In 2027, the corridor gets a walking route

The next round of changes is about how people get to 152 without a car. Two projects have contracts awarded by ODOT to Redlands Contracting, and both are expected to start construction in early 2027.

The Mustang Trails Project will add a walking trail from State Highway 152, on the west side of Fire Station #1, to the existing trails in the southwest corner of Wild Horse Park. That trail was part of the 2017 Imagine Mustang Comprehensive Plan, so it has been on paper for close to a decade.

Phase 1 of the Mustang Multimodal Project will build protected sidewalks between Mustang Public Schools facilities inside city limits and the Town Center. The city keeps the background on its Multimodal Continuity Plan page.

At the south end of town, the long-planned widening of Southwest 89th Street has finished design. That work covers SW 89th between Mustang Road and State Highway 4, plus Mustang Road from the railroad tracks south to 89th. Utility relocations are being coordinated now. Construction at the SW 89th and Mustang Road intersection, and on Mustang Road north to the tracks, is anticipated to begin in summer 2027.

Spooktacular at Town Center

Before any of that, the city's free Spooktacular returns on Saturday, October 24, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at Town Center. The city lists more than 50 carnival games with candy prizes, life-size Monopoly with prizes, inflatables and food trucks. Town Center is also where the 2027 protected sidewalks are planned to end.

Curious how all this new activity on SH-152 might affect what your Mustang home is worth? Andrea Chambers follows these city reports closely and can walk you through what's changing near your street. Get your free home valuation and let's talk it over.