Cracker Barrel facts for kids
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Trade name
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Cracker Barrel |
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| Public | |
| Traded as |
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| ISIN | US22410J1060 |
| Industry | Restaurants |
| Founded | September 19, 1969 |
| Founder | Dan Evins |
| Headquarters |
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United States
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Number of locations
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658 (2024) |
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Area served
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United States |
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Key people
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| Products | Southern Cuisine (breakfast foods • seafood • chicken platters • Dumplings • Steaks • Kids Menu • Pork Dishes • Salads • Sandwiches • Beef Platters • Desserts) |
| Services | Food General store |
| Revenue |  US$3.47 billion (2024) |
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Operating income
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 US$45.1 million |
| US$40.9 million (2024) |
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| Total assets | US$2.16 billion (2024) |
| Total equity | US$440 million (2024) |
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Number of employees
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77,600 (2024) |
| Subsidiaries | Logan's Roadhouse (1999–2006) Rocking Chair, Inc. (2002–present) Maple Street Biscuit Company (2019–present) |
| Footnotes / references Financials as of August 2, 2024[update]. |
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Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. is a popular American company. It runs a chain of restaurants and gift shops that have a Southern country style. The main office for Cracker Barrel is in Lebanon, Tennessee. This is also where the company was started by Dan Evins in 1969.
At first, Cracker Barrel restaurants were built near major highways in the Southern and Midwestern parts of the United States. Later, they grew and opened stores all across the country during the 1990s and 2000s. As of August 2023, there were 660 Cracker Barrel stores in 45 states.
The food at Cracker Barrel is based on traditional Southern cooking. The restaurants look like old-fashioned general stores. Each place has a front porch with wooden rocking chairs, a stone fireplace, and special decorations from the local area. Cracker Barrel also works with country music artists. The company helps with charity work, like helping people after Hurricane Katrina and supporting injured war veterans.
Contents
History of Cracker Barrel
How Cracker Barrel Started: 1969–1980
Cracker Barrel was started in 1969 by Dan Evins. He worked for Shell Oil and first thought of the restaurant and gift shop idea to help sell more gasoline. He wanted the stores to look like the old-fashioned country stores he remembered from his childhood. The name "Cracker Barrel" was chosen to give it a Southern country feel. It was meant to attract people traveling on highways. The name comes from barrels of soda crackers that were sold in small-town stores in the American South long ago. People would gather around these barrels to chat.
The very first restaurant opened on September 19, 1969. It was built near Interstate 40 in Lebanon, Tennessee. It served Southern food like biscuits, grits, country ham, and turnip greens.
Dan Evins officially made Cracker Barrel a company in February 1970. Soon, more locations were opened. In the early 1970s, the company rented land at gas stations near highways to build restaurants. These early locations had gas pumps. But during times when gasoline was hard to find in the mid-to-late 1970s, Cracker Barrel started building restaurants without gas pumps.
Growth and Changes: 1981–1996
Cracker Barrel became a public company in 1981. This meant people could buy shares of the company to help it get money for more growth. It sold over half a million shares and raised $10.6 million. After this, Cracker Barrel grew by about 20 percent each year. By 1987, the company had more than 50 stores in eight states. Its yearly sales were almost $81 million. The company kept growing through the 1980s and 1990s. By 1992, it was worth $1 billion. In 1993, Cracker Barrel's sales were almost double that of any other family restaurant.
In 1994, the company tried out a carry-out-only store called Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Corner Market. It was in neighborhoods outside of cities. Cracker Barrel also opened new traditional stores, mostly outside the South. They also tried changing their menus to fit new areas. For example, they added eggs and salsa in Texas and Reuben sandwiches in New York. But they still offered their original menu items everywhere. Cracker Barrel did not close any stores until 1995. A store in Memphis, Tennessee was closed because it no longer met the company's standards.
New Ideas and Challenges: 1997–2010
By September 1997, Cracker Barrel had 314 restaurants. They planned to open about 50 new stores each year for the next five years. The company stopped its Corner Market stores in 1997. It decided to focus again on its main restaurant and gift store locations. The company's president, Ron Magruder, said they wanted to make their main idea stronger. This meant offering traditional foods and retail in a country store setting, with good service and country music. The number of Cracker Barrel restaurants and stores grew to over 420 by 2000. In 2000 and 2001, the company worked on hiring and improving its systems. They started a better way to hire people and added new technology, like a system for taking orders.
Also in 1997, the company bought the Mitchell House in Lebanon, Tennessee. This house used to be a school dormitory. Cracker Barrel spent two million dollars to fix up the house. They used it as their main office from 1999 to 2013.
In the early 2000s, Cracker Barrel faced some concerns about fair treatment. The company worked to improve its policies and make sure everyone was treated fairly. Cracker Barrel also sells some of its products in grocery stores under the name "CB Old Country Store." This happened after a disagreement with Kraft Foods, which sells cheese called Cracker Barrel.
From the late 1990s to the mid-2000s, the company focused on opening new stores in neighborhoods. This was to attract local people and workers. In 1998, they opened their first restaurant and gift store not located near a highway in Dothan, Alabama. In the 2000s, the company started new ways to get customers. This included a nationwide book drive and a contest with prizes like trips to the Country Music Association Awards. In 2006, they changed their highway billboard ads to show pictures of their food. Before, the signs only had the company's logo.
Recent Years: 2011–Present
By 2011, Cracker Barrel had opened over 600 restaurants in 42 states. The company then started opening stores on the West Coast. In 2017, their first store there opened in Tualatin, Oregon. Their first store in California opened in Victorville in 2018. In 2019, Cracker Barrel bought Maple Street Biscuit Company for $36 million.
Cracker Barrel started working with DoorDash in 2020. This was because many restaurants had to close during the Covid-19 pandemic. It was the first time Cracker Barrel partnered with a food delivery service. In September 2020, Cracker Barrel permanently added drinks like beer, wine, and mimosas to its menu. They had tested these drinks in 100 stores earlier in 2020. Customers liked it, so they expanded the drinks to over 600 locations. In early 2023, the company reported $933.9 million in sales. Takeout, delivery, and catering made up 23% of these sales.
For Thanksgiving dinner in 2024, Cracker Barrel offered a meal with roasted turkey, cornbread dressing, green beans, sweet potato casserole, and cranberry relish. It also came with biscuits or corn muffins, a refillable drink, and pumpkin pie.
Cracker Barrel Restaurants
Food and Gift Shop Items
Cracker Barrel is a Southern-themed restaurant chain. It serves traditional Southern comfort food that people often call "down-home" country cooking. Breakfast is served all day. There are two menus: one for breakfast and another for lunch and dinner. Since the first restaurant opened, the menu has included Southern favorites like biscuits, fried chicken, and catfish. Special seasonal and regional foods were added to the menu in the 1980s and 1990s.
The gift shops sell many different items. These include simple toys that were popular in the 1950s and 1960s, toy cars, puzzles, and wooden crafts. They also sell country music CDs, DVDs of old classic TV shows, cookbooks, baking mixes, kitchen decorations, and old brands of candy and snacks.
Locations, Service, and Decor
For most of its early years, Cracker Barrel built its restaurants along the Interstate Highway System. Most of its restaurants are still close to major highways.
The stores are designed to look like a traditional Southern U.S. general store. The items used to decorate each store are real old things. They include everyday objects from the early 1900s and later. Outside each store, there is a front porch with wooden rocking chairs. Inside, all stores have five common decorations: a shotgun, a cookstove, a deer head, a telephone, and a traffic light. Every table also has a wooden peg solitaire game.
The decorations at each location also include items related to the local history of the area. These can be old tools, calendars, posters, and photographs. This idea started with the first store. It was decorated by antique store owners Don and Kathleen Singleton from Lebanon, Tennessee. Their son, Larry Singleton, continued decorating stores until he retired in 2019. The company keeps items for decorations in a large warehouse in Tennessee. There, they are cleaned, fixed, and listed until they are needed. As of 2018, the warehouse had over 90,000 items.
Awards and Recognition
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Destinations magazine has given Cracker Barrel awards for being the best chain restaurant. In 2010 and 2011, the Zagat survey called it the "Best Breakfast." The Outdoor Advertising Association of America gave the chain the 2011 OBIE Hall of Fame Award. This was for its long use of outdoor advertising. It was also named the "Best Family Dining" restaurant by a national poll in Restaurants & Institutions magazine for 19 years in a row.
Loyal Customers
Cracker Barrel is known for how loyal its customers are. This is especially true for travelers who often spend more at restaurants than local people. From 1977 to 2017, a married couple named Ray and Wilma Yoder traveled over 5 million miles. They visited 644 Cracker Barrel locations. When the company opened its 645th restaurant in Tualatin, Oregon, in August 2017, Cracker Barrel flew the Yoders there for the grand opening. They gave them special aprons and rocking chairs as gifts.
Company Information
Leadership
The company's founder, Dan Evins, led Cracker Barrel until 2001. Michael Woodhouse then took over. In September 2011, Sandra B. Cochran became the company's CEO and president. She was the second woman in Tennessee to hold such a high position in a public company. She held the job until August 2023, when Julie Felss Masino became the new CEO.
Business Approach
Cracker Barrel restaurants are for families and people who want a casual meal. They also focus on selling items in their gift shops. The chain also advertises to people traveling on highways. This is because most of its locations are near highway exits. The company works to keep its costs low. It also tries to keep its employees for a long time and train them well. Since the 1980s, the company has offered a special training program with benefits for all its employees.
Partnerships and Sponsorships
NASCAR
Cracker Barrel has sponsored different NASCAR races. From 1999 to 2001, they sponsored the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Since 2025, they have sponsored the Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway.
Music Artists
Cracker Barrel has often worked with country musician Dolly Parton. They first worked together in 2009 on a special edition of her album Backwoods Barbie. Since then, the company has released special editions of other Parton albums. They also brought Parton and the a cappella group Pentatonix together. They made a new version of Parton's song Jolene. This song won a Grammy Award in 2017. Parton also performed as part of Cracker Barrel's appearance in the 2020 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
In 2009, the company worked with country musician Alan Jackson. They released an album called Songs of Love and Heartache and a collection of items. In 2019, the company started its 'Five Decades, One Voice' campaign. This campaign highlighted female country music singers like Loretta Lynn, Trisha Yearwood, and Brandi Carlile. This was because a study found female country artists got less radio time than male artists. The campaign included making new versions of classic country songs and creating all-female playlists for the restaurants.
In 2011, The Oak Ridge Boys recorded a special 30th anniversary edition of their album "It's Only Natural" for the company. In 2020, Cracker Barrel brought together Ingrid Andress, Kimberly Schlapman, and Karen Fairchild. They worked together on a version of Andress' song "More Hearts Than Mine." Cracker Barrel is also on the Corporate Advisory Board for the Texas Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). It also helps support the NAACP Leadership 500 Summit.
Grand Ole Opry Sponsorship
Cracker Barrel also sponsored the Grand Ole Opry from 2004 to 2009. The company was the first main sponsor of the Grand Ole Opry. This sponsorship helped the company make connections in the Nashville music world. After this, it started working with many country music performers.
Helping Communities
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Cracker Barrel has supported many charities. They do this through donations, special events, and working with charity groups. The chain has helped charities and causes in the communities where its restaurants are located. This includes helping the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. They also helped Nashville after bad flooding in 2010. In the same year, Cracker Barrel started Cracker Barrel Cares Inc. This is a non-profit group funded by employees. It helps Cracker Barrel employees who need support. Cracker Barrel has also partnered with the Wounded Warrior Project, which helps injured veterans. They also work with the non-profit Operation Homefront to support programs for military families.
To improve its image after some disagreements about fairness, the company has offered scholarships through the National Black MBA Association. It also has job skills programs and sponsorships with 100 Black Men of America and the Restaurant and Lodging Association. In November 2021, Cracker Barrel started an effort called Food for Families. This aims to help with food shortages and reduce food waste in rural areas and in middle Tennessee. This was in addition to a new partnership with the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Foundation and Feeding America.
Fairness Policies
Cracker Barrel has worked to make sure its policies are fair for all employees. In the early 1990s, there were some concerns about how employees were treated. After discussions with groups that support fairness, the company changed its policies in March 1991. They stated they would not treat people unfairly based on who they are. The company's founder, Dan Evins, later said the old policy was a mistake.
From 1992 onwards, a major shareholder, the New York City Employees Retirement System, suggested adding fairness for all people to the company's non-discrimination policy. It took until 2002 for these suggestions to be approved by most shareholders.
Between 2008 and 2021, Cracker Barrel improved its rating in the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index. This was by adding policies and training programs to ensure fair treatment for everyone. Since 2016, the company has worked to support fairness for all. They created a special group inside the company that includes different kinds of people. Since 2017, the company has sponsored Out & Equal, a group that helps make workplaces fair for everyone.
Legal Matters
Fairness Cases
In 1999 and 2001, some legal disagreements were filed against Cracker Barrel in Georgia. The first was from a group of employees who felt they were treated unfairly because of their race. The second was from customers with similar concerns. Both disagreements were supported by the NAACP. Cracker Barrel officials said they disagreed with the claims. They stated the company was committed to treating all employees and customers fairly. In October 2002, a court ruled that the NAACP and other people could not join the customer lawsuit. In January 2003, it was suggested that the employee lawsuit should not be a large group lawsuit. Both disagreements were settled by the company in September 2004.
The U.S. Justice Department also filed a disagreement against Cracker Barrel in May 2004. Their investigation found that the company might have treated minority customers unfairly at its restaurants. The company settled this disagreement by agreeing to new policies to ensure fair treatment. They also hired an outside group to check that they followed the agreement.
Kraft Foods vs. Cracker Barrel
In November 2012, Cracker Barrel allowed another company, Smithfield Foods, to sell a line of meat products using the Cracker Barrel name in stores. But Kraft Foods has sold cheese under the Cracker Barrel brand since 1954. Because of this, Kraft Foods filed a lawsuit in February 2013. They said that using the name for meat products was a problem because of their cheese brand. Kraft asked a court to stop the deal with Smithfield Foods. A judge agreed and stopped the sale of the Cracker Barrel branded meat products. This decision was upheld by another court. Cracker Barrel then agreed to sell its meat products under the brand name "CB Old Country Store."
See also
