Cracker Barrel CEO says chain is 'just not as relevant as we once were,' amid struggles

[Love365]

Some restaurants have different names in the North and the South.

Do you like the sound of the Pickle Barrel ?

The Cheese Barrel?

The Maple Syrup Barrel?

 

[iluvatar5150]

The Maple Syrup Barrel?

That’s how I want to drown.

 

[Hans Blaster]

Some restaurants have different names in the North and the South.

Do you like the sound of the Pickle Barrel ?

The Cheese Barrel?

The Maple Syrup Barrel?

The problem with "Cracker Barrel" isn't the name. It is the business itself. Since you seem to be finding alternative "regional" names, you should know that "cracker" in the name has nothing to do with a demeaning term for white people. A cracker barrel is a barrel at the dry goods store (or general store) filled with crackers. It's how crackers were shipped more than a century ago.

 

[CRAZY_CAT_WOMAN]

Some restaurants have different names in the North and the South.

Do you like the sound of the Pickle Barrel ?

The Cheese Barrel?

The Maple Syrup Barrel?

None of them would encourage me to go there. Since I live in the city. And I've never heard these names. If a family member or wanted to go there. Then I would go there.

 

[Love365]

God made bees.

Bees make honey.

Honey Barrel

 

[CRAZY_CAT_WOMAN]

The problem with "Cracker Barrel" isn't the name.

I never even thought about Cracker name, for white people .Since the name isn't popular, where I live.

 

[CRAZY_CAT_WOMAN]

God made bees.

Bees make honey.

Honey Barrel

Why would I go to a restaurant called Honey Barrel. It makes no sense to me.

 

[RocksInMyHead]

God made bees.

Bees make honey.

Honey Barrel

God made people.

People make crackers.

Cracker Barrel

 

[Hans Blaster]

I never even thought about Cracker name, for white people .Since the name isn't popular, where I live.

I've personally never heard the term in person, but I have learned that the poster in question has very weird ideas about how things work or why they happen.

 

[Love365]

I've personally never heard the term in person, but I have learned that the poster in question has very weird ideas about how things work or why they happen.

The Cleveland Indians changed their name
to the Cleveland Guardians.

 

[Hans Blaster]

The Cleveland Indians changed their name
to the Cleveland Guardians.

And what makes you think the Cracker Barrel restaurant was named after anything other than an old fashioned barrel full of crackers?

 

[Tropical Wilds]

Cracker Barrel was never an amazing place with great food, but it was serviceable and reliable. However, I ate at one last year for the first time post-pandemic and it kind of surprised me how steeply they went downhill. I can only guess they are trying to recoup their losses by cutting seasoning from their food budget, and their menu prices were wonky. Cracker Barrel is too expensive to be cheap and too cheap to be special. They either need to go like Dennys or IHOP, which is lots of eats-style cheap food served fast, or go like Chilis, which is marginally more expensive food with slightly better ingredients, flavors, and at least semi-cognizant of seasonality and food trends.

I would tell them to cut their menu size down by half, then focus on doing hearty homestyle southern food with some signature dishes that are modernized classics. Black pepper brined chicken with brown butter dumplings sounds way better than just chicken and dumplings. Bacon corn fritters with molasses butter sounds way better than hush puppies. Make the biscuits 1/3 bigger, pair it with a sweet and a savory spread, it’s a small tweak that makes a big impact. They need to go to Art Smith or Cheryl Day and ask how to make a modern, authentic, approachable ideas to bring the brand forward.

 

[Love365]

And what makes you think the Cracker Barrel restaurant was named after anything other than an old fashioned barrel full of crackers?

I don’t remember making any such claim.

Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. have different names.

Checker‘s and Rally’s have different names.

 

[RocksInMyHead]

I don’t remember making any such claim.

Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. have different names.

Checker‘s and Rally’s have different names.

Hardees and Carl's is an east/west thing (actually more like rest of the country/California), not north/south, and it came about because they used to be two separate chains. Carl's bought Hardees and decided to keep using the name in the part of the country where Hardees had operated before in order to trade on the brand recognition.

 

[durangodawood]

......Black pepper brined chicken with brown butter dumplings sounds way better than just chicken and dumplings......

Adjectives sell food.

 

[Tropical Wilds]

Adjectives sell food.

Modern baking and cooking trends sell food.

 

[durangodawood]

Modern baking and cooking trends sell food.

That too.

But people will prefer the exact menu item more when a few descriptors are added.

 

[Tropical Wilds]

That too.

But people will prefer the exact menu item more when a few descriptors are added.

In Cracker Barrel’s case, they should tweak the recipe to be those things instead of the bland cafeteria food it serves now.

 

[durangodawood]

In Cracker Barrel’s case, they should tweak the recipe to be those things instead of the bland cafeteria food it serves now.

People would complain they are going "woke".

Thats where we are in America.

 

[Tropical Wilds]

People would complain they are going "woke".

Thats where we are in America.

A majority of Americans would be happily woke if it meant not getting gross food, lol.