How does a comfort food restaurant known for its rocking chairs and peg games have such
staying power in today's cutthroat food industry?
Cracker Barrel has managed to do it, one hashbrown casserole at a time.
But it's not just the food that keeps customers coming back.
Every Cracker Barrel restaurant has an Old Country Store attached to it where you can
buy everything from cast iron cookware to apparel.
One of the store's top sellers, predictably, is their rocking chairs, which are made by
the family-run, five-generation Hinkle Chair Company, who cranks out 83,000 of the chairs
every year for the chain.
Quilts and bedspreads, snack food items, replica electronics including old-time jukeboxes,
and items for the military are also on offer.
Here's where Cracker Barrel was smart: To pay your check, you have to walk to the register
located in the store, which means plenty of opportunities to buy those candles and country
music CDs on your way to the parking lot.
In 2014, their retail stores accounted for a fifth of the chain's total revenue, and
that's about $2.7 billion in annual revenue.
It definitely helps with Cracker Barrel's bottom line, and just imagine how many cowboy
hats, hummingbird night lights and metal watering-can salt and pepper shakers that translates to.
Chances are you've driven by a Cracker Barrel restaurant while on a road trip.
With their 660 restaurants in 45 states, it seems like you see their front porches and
rocking chairs everywhere, and those road trippers are a part of their success.
In fact, the company says that travelers make up over 40 percent of their business, and
Cracker Barrel is such a popular destination they even have a page on their website dedicated
to welcoming tour groups and explaining how tourists can make the most of their stay.
The restaurant doesn't just attract tour groups and people looking for biscuits and gravy, though.
Lovebirds have also been known to flock to the Cracker Barrel, including an adorable
couple in their 80s who made it their mission to visit every Cracker Barrel in the United States.
And while that's some serious dedication, you probably know someone who does something
similar and just has to stop at a Cracker Barrel when they're on the road, whether it's
for a vacation or work.
The proof is in the numbers.
With 217 million guests served each year all across the country, Cracker Barrel is a very
popular destination for all kinds of people.
"this is a dream come true.
It’s a cross country road trip.
My dad and I took one ever summer.
Blasting any sound track, eating junk food"
What Cracker Barrel is selling, and what millions of Americans are consuming, is an idealized
version of what many people are nostalgic for, and what many people wish they had access
to well into adulthood a visit to grandma's house.
Everyone loves a warm, welcoming place filled with antiques with delicious smells wafting
from the kitchen, right?
It takes a lot of time and effort to perfect this grandma aesthetic, and Cracker Barrel
works hard to make the experience as authentic as possible.
Cracker Barrel has huge warehouses just dedicated to their decorations and yes, they're all
completely, 100 percent authentic.
That tin sign on the wall might be the exact same one your grandparents had in their kitchen,
and that kind of nostalgia is a powerful thing.
There is something comforting about visiting a romanticized version of your grandma's house,
and Cracker Barrel seems to know that.
Another big reason Cracker Barrel is so popular is that it's a reasonably-priced dining experience
for customers.
The most expensive item on the Cracker Barrel menu is the ribeye steak and even that comes
in just above $15 with three sides included.
Most of the items on the menu cost less than $10, and each weekday they have a different
$5.99 lunch special.
Many of their platter meals are served with two or three sides and the basket of free
biscuits or corn muffins, so there's a pretty good chance you could leave with lunch leftovers
for the next day as well.
Couple all this with the fact the Cracker Barrel is more of a dining experience than
your local fast food joint, and it ends up being a pretty good value for your dining
out dollar.
Cracker Barrel gets most of the ingredients used in their kitchens from the United States.
According to the Cracker Barrel website,
"Homegrown food, quite simply, tastes better.
With our Tennessee roots, and 660 stores in 45 states, sourcing fresh ingredients domestically
is core to our beliefs.
By far and away, the vast majority of our ingredients come from right here in America.
Our green beans, potatoes, farm raised catfish, sweet potatoes, turnip greens, and all of
our beef, pork, and poultry are domestically grown or raised."
Not only that, but Cracker Barrel has a policy of working with suppliers who have made a
commitment to responsibly-raised meat.
There are the occasional imports, though.
Ingredients like shrimp aren't sourced from the U.S. because it's not produced in large
enough quantities for the restaurant's needs.
So while it's not 100-percent locally-sourced, it's still refreshing to know that the majority
of ingredients aren't coming from a far away country, and customers appreciate that kind
of commitment from a restaurant.
Cracker Barrel really does have something for everyone, and for a family trying to please
a whole lot of different people, that's brilliant.
Board games for the bored!
Antiques for the history buff!
Candy and retro toys for the kids!
A generous bread basket for everyone who has excellent taste!
And the company is now targeting another important audience millennials with a cool new fast-casual
concept called Holler & Dash, which is a stripped down hipster restaurant with farmhouse pendant
lighting and exposed brick.
The menu items include things like fried chicken biscuits with goat cheese and tater tot bowls
with bacon, cheddar cheese and sauce.
Sadly, there are only a handful of Holler & Dash locations, but here's hoping they become
as popular as Cracker Barrel's traditional restaurants.
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