Cracker Barrel hopes that spending $700 million on revamping its restaurants can save the dying chain.
The six-point plan includes a makeover for stores with brighter colors to make them less dated, a new logo and new menus.
New items on the simplified menu include cornbread with green chiles and shepherd’s pie with hashbrown casserole. Two stores have already been renovated and ten others are testing a new menu.
But CEO Julie Masino said prices will rise in many stores.
Southern country-themed restaurants, with 662 locations across the country, have lost more than a sixth of their customers in just four years — and the trend is continuing.
Falling customers have led to stores being closed and bosses developing a plan to turn the tide.
But when Masino released those plans last week, she told investors that the chian was “not as relevant as it used to be” — causing the company’s shares to plummet.
At Cracker Barrel, the most common age group of customers is 65 and older
One of the key challenges is attracting younger customers, with Cracker Barrel’s most loyal customers being over the age of 65.
Masino, who joined from Taco Bell nine months ago, outlined the five pillars for improving the earnings call. DailyMail.com has listened – and we summarize the plan below.
“The brand has lost some of its luster, especially after the pandemic,” she said. “But to fuel growth, we need to reinvigorate the brand.”
Renewed logos
“Cracker Barrel is an iconic brand, but even iconic brands have to evolve. From our research we know that, despite our great affinity with consumers, we are no longer as relevant as we used to be,” says Masino.
The company has hired a branding agency to come up with a new logo and colors, while remaining “rooted in the heritage and heritage of our country.”
New menu – and prices
“Our second strategic pillar is all about what makes up about 80 percent of our sales, our menu,” she said.
She added: “In February, we launched a core menu refresh test with approximately 20 new items, several changed items, and more than 20 removals.
‘We are happy with the guest’s response. For example, eight of the new lunch and dinner entrees rank in the top 20 of the entree product mix at these stores.
“We’re also seeing a strong mix of new items in other categories, like our green chile cornbread and our banana pudding.”
Cracker Barrel now has the new menu in ten stores. Some of the items will go to all restaurants in the fall.
These include premium savory chicken and rice, slow-braised pot roast and hash brown casserole shepherd’s pie.
To speed things up and save costs, hand-cut lettuce is no longer used.
Masino gave a hint that prices could also rise.
Cracker Barrel has five price tiers for areas with different costs, but she said 60 percent of outlets were in the lowest cost tier.
She said some could ask for more.
“We have stores in urban areas with an average annual household income of $55,000, at the same price point as a $90,000 store,” she said.
But she added that menu prices could be reduced in some areas.
“I want to emphasize that optimizing our price points on the menu does not just mean increasing prices,” she said.
‘In some places it can even mean taking the opposite approach. We understand that the lower end consumer is challenged, and value is and will continue to be an important part of the brand, and we will work vigorously to protect it.”
Cracker Barrel stores have extensive menus, with items like Chicken N’ Dumplins, which cost $11.49.
Cracker Barrel sells food such as chicken tenders for $12.99
Cracker Barrel stores are getting an update. This is one of the old designs
The company plummeted even more when CEO Julie Felss Masino told investors: ‘We’re just not as relevant as we once were’
Renovated stores
Cracker Barrels are deliberately intended to reflect an old-fashioned country store selling trinkets and simple comfort food.
Masino said she will change the store design and atmosphere.” Investments are being made in ‘aging’ stores.
She hinted at a new look. “Historically, Cracker Barrel has made limited changes to the aesthetic of our design,” she said.
“And we probably relied a little too much on what was perceived as the timeless nature of our concept.
‘We have started carrying out a trial renovation in two test stores. This included updating the interior and exterior of these stores by using a different color palette, updating the lighting, providing more comfortable seating and simplifying the furnishings and fixtures.”
The stores are a hit and are about to be rolled out. It expects to complete 25 to 30 renovations in fiscal year 2025.
Loyalty app and delivery
She said Cracker Barrel Rewards will have 5 million members after launching in mid-September — a 25 percent increase over projections.
The company also plans to offer more delivery through companies like Uber Eats.
Employee benefits
The company plans to make it a better place for staff to work – with better training, simpler roles and more technology to help them do their jobs.
“Our people are at the heart of everything we do,” she said. And ultimately, if you feel good about where you work and what you do, you’ll be happier. And that translates to the guests.
Prices were not one of the pillars, but Masino gave a clue to price increases.
Cracker Barrel has five price tiers for areas with different costs, but she said 60 percent of outlets were in the lowest cost tier.
She said some could ask for more.
“We have stores in urban areas with an average annual household income of $55,000, at the same price point as a $90,000 store,” she said.
But she added that menu prices could be reduced in some areas.
The company’s plan has drawn mixed reactions. Since the May 16 call, shares of the 54-year-old company have fallen nearly 20 percent.
On Thursday, May 24, Cracker Barrel was trading as low as $45.35 – its lowest level in more than a decade. In total this year there is a decrease of 40 percent.
The restaurant rose to prominence after it was founded in 1969 as customers flocked to its all-American dishes such as biscuits and gravy and fried chicken.
Management does not expect the expensive brand name to bear fruit until late 2026 and 2027.
Cracker Barrel has lost a significant 16 percent of its diners over the past four years, and this trend continues.
“A big reason the stock price has fallen is because there wasn’t really a plan,” Truist analyst Jake Bartlett told the paper. New York Post.
Cracker Barrel has lost a significant 16 percent of its diners over the past four years, and the trend continues
“They announced a plan for a plan, but they didn’t give investors enough information to assess whether reinvesting in the stores was a credible plan to address the traffic losses.”
A particular obstacle the company faces is attracting young customers.
“They have a lot of senior consumers, so in the long run they have to migrate away from that consumer,” Bartlett said.
However, the company, which faced backlash in the 1990s for its anti-LGBT policies, has struggled to retain its senior clientele while bringing in Gen Z customers.
Last year, Cracker Barrel was accused of being “woke” when the restaurant lined its porches with rainbow-colored rocking chairs during Pride Month — and customers even boycotted the chain, which has locations in 45 states.
