<p>Tom E. DuPree, who built his Applebees franchises into a textbook example of how to succeed in the restaurant business, has resigned as chairman and chief executive of the company he founded.</p><p>Also departing this week from Avado Brands was chief administrative officer Margaret Beth Waldrep.</p><p>Kevin Leary, who worked for such companies as Gloria Jeans Coffee, Au Bon Pain and Hilltop Steak Houses, has been named interim CEO. Leary most recently was with AlixPartners LLC, a management consulting firm based in Michigan.</p><p>Robert Sroka has been named as acting chairman of the Madison-based Avado.</p><p>The companys stock trades for less than 20 cents a share, down from $28 in 1996.</p><p>Dupree hit pay dirt in the 1980s with Apple South, the name under which he ran his Applebees franchises. His alma mater, Georgia Tech, named its Dupree College of Management after him following a 1994 donation of $5 million. He pledged another $20 million, but three years ago, DuPree testified at a child support and custody hearing that he had only $3,600 and could not afford his monthly bills.</p><p>Many of the chains that once were in the Avado portfolio _ Applebees, McCormick & Schmicks and Canyon Cafe _ have been sold. The businesses that remain _ Don Pablos Mexican Kitchen and Hops Grillhouse & Brewery _ have struggled in the faltering economy.</p><p>In July, the company received a default notice from the holders of $66.1 million of $105.3 million in outstanding notes. Avado said it was in compliance with the note agreement and had made all interest payments, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.</p><p>They grew too rapidly, too diversely, and they lost control, said Ron Wolf, executive director of the Georgia Restaurant Council. They became too leveraged.</p><p>Information from: Constitution</p>
