Yeah applebees is in the mall.. where a bjs is kinda a stand alone in the parking lot. The newer restaurants are like the metropolis mall.The mall is not gun friendly but I think if the restaraunt has a door which you can access without entering the mall, then there in ends the malls' "authority." Because although they lease the space from Simon, that doesn't grant them the authority to hinder their business. Hence, if the restaraunt has no problem with it, the it doesn't matter what the mall says.
Disclaimer: I am not an attorney and this is in NO way legal advice.