Įvins incorporated Cracker Barrel in February 1970, and soon opened more locations. It opened in September 1969, serving Southern cuisine including biscuits, grits, country ham, and turnip greens. The first restaurant was built close to Interstate 40, in Lebanon, Tennessee. The name comes from the barrels of soda crackers that could be found for sale in small-town stores across the American South in the early 1900s people would stand around the barrels chatting and catching up, similar in purpose to contemporary office water coolers. Designed to resemble the traditional country store that he remembered from his childhood, with a name chosen to give it a Southern country theme, Cracker Barrel was intended to attract the interest of highway travelers. History First location and early company history Ĭracker Barrel was founded in 1969 by Dan Evins, a representative for Shell Oil, who developed the restaurant and gift store concept initially as a plan to improve gasoline sales. It engages in charitable activities, such as its assistance to victims of Hurricane Katrina and injured war veterans.ĭuring the early 1990s, the company became the subject of controversy when founder and CEO Dan Evins instituted an official company policy prohibiting the hiring of any individual whose "sexual preferences fail to demonstrate normal heterosexual values." Following massive public backlash and large shareholders such as the New York City Employee Retirement System threatening to vote out the entirety of upper management, the company reversed the policy.
Cracker Barrel partners with country music performers. Each location features a front porch lined with wooden rocking chairs, a stone fireplace, and decorative artifacts from the local area. Ĭracker Barrel's menu is based on traditional Southern cuisine, with appearance and decor designed to resemble an old-fashioned general store. As of September 16, 2020, the chain operates 663 stores in 45 states. The chain's stores were at first positioned near Interstate Highway exits in the Southeastern and Midwestern United States, but expanded across the country during the 1990s and 2000s. Its first store was in Lebanon, Tennessee the corporate offices are located at a different facility in the same city. The company was founded by Dan Evins in 1969.
Maple Street Biscuit Company (2019–present)Ĭracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc., doing business as simply Cracker Barrel, is an American chain of restaurant and gift stores with a Southern country theme.
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