I attended the opening of the first Applebee's and IHOP dual-branded restaurant in Seguin, Texas.It's the first restaurant of its kind in the United States, though the concept has worked abroad.Dine Brands CEO John Peyton said the restaurant will hopefully attract younger customers.Chain restaurants are betting big on value and choice to attract younger customers amid declining sales across the casual dining industry.The latest example is the opening of the first dual-branded Applebee's and IHOP restaurant in the US.The first-of-its-kind restaurant, which opened on February 18, is located off the side of a major highway in Seguin, Texas, about halfway between San Antonio and Austin.It's rare for chain restaurants to try something completely new.New menu items often come and go as mere trends, and with many chains focusing on nostalgia instead of rebranding, they're sticking with what has already proven successful rather than taking a risk on a new restaurant concept.Chili's popular Triple Dipper, for example, went viral last year and accounted for 14% of the chain's total sales in the second quarter, but it has actually been a menu staple for years although it recently got a refresh with spicier flavors for its chicken tenders and extra-cheesy fried mozzarella.But from the moment I walked into the newly designed Applebee's-IHOP restaurant, I could tell this experience would be completely different from any visit I'd had at either chain before.The new restaurant concept is poised to appeal to a younger audience, a priority for Dine Brands, the parent company of Applebee's and IHOP.CEO John Peyton told Business Insider that Gen Z's tastes were a key consideration before introducing the Applebee's-IHOP hybrid in the US."They love spicy, they love to share, they love to sample, they like to have choice. And so all of those things are important inspirations for how we think about designing our menus and new ideas," Peyton told BI ahead of the restaurant's grand opening."Guests never had the opportunity to have two people at dinner have an omelet and two people have a Bourbon steak, or mix and match," he continued. "That new level of choices you can make here is exactly what we think our younger guests are looking for."Here's what it was like to eat at the hybrid Applebee's-IHOP restaurant.