Cracker Barrel's Epic Downfall Keeps Getting Worse
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 เม.ย. 2024
- Cracker Barrel recently announced the shutdown of 4 more outlets, adding to a long list of closures. The restaurant chain is desperately trying to address dropping revenues and store shutdowns. Are there worse times ahead for this legacy American chain?
#crackerbarrel #countrymusic #restaurants #countryliving
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They don't need a marketing department. What they need to do is go back to good service, good food, and good housekeeping. If that happens, we will be back to what once was our go-to family restaurant and people will beat a path to their doors.
Being a Christian, I understood years ago that my business wasn't wanted. np. Many other restaurants.
CB in Orlando is not great, Orlando.gov ... I liked the country store, hokey theme 🍽 but the QC & prices of the foods, mostly breakfast was 📉 .
not going to happen with uncle joe around. you'll be lucky if you get to eat dirt pretty soon.
There is a labor shortage, getting good people to work is going to cost a lot of money.
They got rid of the gift shops and old time candy. That was more than I could take.
The decline in customers is easy to explain: lower quality food, poor employee quality and management of the restaurant at a whole, poor customer service, the restrooms are not clean anymore. They can’t even get the sweet tea right anymore. Bottom line: managers don’t seem to care and the quality of employees is poor. It doesn’t make you want to go back anymore.
their tea is ok , its the price of it now
I agree about the tea. And last time I was there the tea had coffee grounds in it.
Manager and EMPLOYEES are a product of modern day society..
Wow it takes a special kind of mucking about and finding out to screw up sweet tea. Thanks for the heads up.
Not true in my area.
This is bizarre as I have NEVER been to a cracker barrel anywhere that was not PACKED with people
Me either. Takes forever to get checked out though.
Not the one in Kingsland Georgia. Always empty seats.
That used to be the case for us as well but a couple of weeks ago we stopped at one that was not full at all. I don't remember what day or time of day it was however.
Lake park Georgia not so good … ordered a dinner for 5. Vegetables had two loaf pans full of vegetables …Chicken and Dumplins not so much. It was enough for maybe one person. Mostly juice ! Sad !
Lavonia GA always packed. Same for Plymouth Meeting PA, Lehigh Valley, Brooksville FL (SR 50&I-75), Anderson SC, Wesley Chapel, 54th Ave N St. Petersburg, the list goes on as we’re frequently in CB on our trips. From this video, most closures are in states run by the D party. If I say more, YT’s secretive community won’t like it
It’s not just Cracker Barrel. Shareholder profits, quarterly earnings, DEI, ESG. These are the corporate drivers today. In any one of these let alone all four simultaneously, there is no room for quality. Yet they just double down as if it’ll magically fix itself.
Filthy Bathrooms. Crowded tables. Overworked staff. Smaller portions. Subtle changes in recipes with cheaper items equals diminished taste. Playing to stockholder profits rather than service creates decreased profits and the vicious circling the drain begins.
Recipes? How about frozen food microwaved or induction oven.
What they should've mentioned is that 8-10yrs ago the company sold out to big conglomerates or hedge funds. Hence the missing staff, lousy food and generally a bean counters dream. I used to go down the east coast to Florida and come back up a month later. All of them were the same. "2 old fashioned slices of meat loaf". I swear less than 1/4 inch each and can see thru on one of them. Once in Florida was like night and day. Great food, hot, friendly staff, like what cracker barrel used to be. This is at their competitors.
So they shouldn't blame economic factors. Look no further than your own staff and execs stock options. That's what killed CB.
Yeah, very small portions. I got there, spend $25+ bucks, and still I'm hungry. Not the same as it was in the past.
And food taking forever to get.
And don't forget the racism...still present in many locations where non-whites are either served poorly or not at all. Was at a NC location within the last 10 days where I witnessed this..BTW, I am white.
Where the bean counters rule, business failure is inevitable
Except the parachuted CxO's!
aka Boeing
yep accountants need too stay in accounting. That's their literal job. Just because you're very good at one thing doesn't mean you don't suck at everything else ( better t oo be a master of one than a jack of all trades every time) . Goes with any profession i.e. construction worker can lay down gravel but would have no idea how too teach kids an d vice versa
Bean counters are the reason Japanese car industry killed domestics. Toyota: how can we make better cars. GM/Ford: how can we make cars cheaper.
When you have a business that appeals to the working class, having the three-piece suits call the shots is probably not a great idea. They have no frame of reference to make informed decisions on what these customers like. 🤷
15 years ago they were a great place to eat. Now the food is as bad as the service.
I spent half of my adult career in the corporate chain food restaurant business and, with few exceptions, as soon as they fall into the “Quarterly Earnings” trap dictated by Wall Street, their future is a downward spiral. Additionally, unless the food and service is exceptional, “theme” restaurants become victims of the latest trends… customers are fickle. Finally, there is a very real shortage of people who want to perform these restaurant jobs, so finding and retaining competent help… including management… has taken a negative toll on quality, service, and cleanliness.
I spent 8 years of my life, slaving in that place. When I first started, it was a family friendly, place. As they changed from, making everything from scratch to everything being frozen or canned. All they cared about was the money, i remember when they said at a meeting, all of you are interchangeable and all of you are replaceable. Then i turned in my GM, for theft, was fired shortly after. I would never eat there, i know how the sausage is made!
Easy, on that, comma key, Bucka,roo😊
Craker Barrels shake hands wit the devil [ LGBTQ ] and then they want to prosper, what a bunch of demonic fools.
There isn’t a sit down chain that prepares everything from scratch. Do people really think chain restaurants have a chef in the kitchen with measuring cups and spices preparing each guest meal separately? That would spell disaster for a chain restaurant that needs consistency. They want every location to taste exactly like every other one of their locations.
@derekk6906 up to the 2nd year i was there, everything was cooked and prepared, some ingredients were from frozen, and we used some bases. However at the end of my 8 years, everything was dump, in a steam kettle, heat up and serve. We had standardized recipes for everything, then as they got rid of the older employees to plug in warm bodies to save money, they switched to the dump and heat method.
The quality suffered, the staff became turnkey, and that is why, they are where they are today.
the last time i ate there it did taste like canned but i brushed off the idea,
They forgot their core business - reasonably priced good food. Nobody says, “hey, I want a beer, let’s go to Cracker Barrel!” You go there for a freshly cook breakfast, country veggies, consistent food. It used to be if you were driving on a trip, you knew Cracker Barrel was food, snacks, music, books on tape, seasonal souvenirs. The last several times, the food quality is terrible, tiny proportions, you go in, only half the tables have people,but they tell you while they can seat you, it will be an hour or more before they can get your food. Nobody has that kind of time. They’re going to disappear.
Not a fan of CB anymore.😢
When they started serving beer,I quit going
Damn, I thought it was just me. We get CB gift cards a lot but we won't use them. We regift them.
I can't believe they sell alcohol now, and yes the food isn't as good either
Right. Take the beer out! Cracker Barrel (aka “like going to Grandma’s house”, beer has not place!).
This was a brilliant concept. Six months ago, I went to one for the first time for “breakfast”. The menu was very limited, the portion was small, food was barely warm, price was high. Cruised the “Made in China” gift shop-no thanks. FIRE the bean counters!!
I have been saying this for years! How are they an old country store when most of their stuff is MADE IN CHINA?!?!?
100% American. With its country store full of 100% Chinese made products.
You can thank the democrats for that.
@@ricksomething bill Clinton was the best Republican president since Eisenhower. On the other hand world poverty is lower than ever.
@@ricksomething Just blame EVERYTHING on democrats. Simple! No further thought required.
Explain to me how does that work? you’re blaming Cracker Barrel for selling Chinese products. Which is their choice. Everything is always the president’s fault. That store created its business and decided what they want to cook and sell. Where does a democratic or Republican president play a part in that conspiracy theorist? Get out of the basement.
@WrldExplorer Decades ago, the democrat Party wanted to open trade with the Chinese. Before this, the Chinese communists were struggling. Now they are a massively rich country and their goods have flooded our nation. It's hard to buy anything that's made in America. It's the democrats fault, not cracker barrel. You can thank the democrats for destroying our economy. You need to do some research before speaking.
Me and my wife used to love Cracker barrel. But their portions got smaller and smaller and colder and colder. We finally quit going about a year ago.
When you pay that much and leave hungry then it’s not good , Applebees is the same way , this economy is making it so hard
A CB is around 4mi from me. I've eaten there maybe 5x in the last 10yr. The chain food quality is lacking. Service is decent but not worth the trip.
Colder and colder. Pancakes that won’t melt the whipped butter.
Exactly. One my family used to go to for holidays or when other family was in town is now stuffed with tables (You often sit back-to-back with other tables or have people walking through raising their arms over you to get by). Prices have gone up. Portions are much smaller. Many dishes seem to be left over from the day(s) before. Any fried chicken seems to be frozen preprepared vs fresh. Service is terrible, at times it would be 15 minutes before we see wait staff, then another 15 just waiting on drinks. If you ask for things it often never comes. You have to know the secret to ask for biscuits/cornbread as now it isn't even offered by the wait staff.
Yeah, very small portions. I got there, spend $25+ bucks, and still I'm hungry. Not the same as it was in the past. And, employees know they're about to close. They don't care now.
Bathrooms are bad and the food doesn’t taste home cooked anymore. Then, they took the turkey sausage from the breakfast menu. I once loved this place. It was once consistently good, regardless of which location you ate at.
Around 2010, they stopped making everything from scratch, and began using all frozen or canned products. All old time employees were forced out because they made too much an hour, and were replaced by especially warm bodies. It's been down hill since then.
Isn’t turkey sausage woke?
Oh yeah, Turkey sausage and Turkey salad, 2 of my favorites
@@Mrrossj01 Sausages are thought to have originated in Mesopotamia over 5,000 years ago, in at least 3,100 BCE, with the earliest evidence being discovered in Sumeria. Since then, many different kinds of sausage have been invented as a way of preserving meat by mixing it with salt and various herbs and spices.
When are you hillbillies gonna finally figure out you are only here to serve your Corporate Republican Masters?
Instead of gimmicks… how about good food, service & cleanliness?
I stopped going to Cracker Barrell 5 years ago, because they dropped the pork chops off the menu. They never did know what customer service is.
I’ve eaten there for decades. I ate there a few times when on a road trip recently. The food was substandard and cold, errors on my order and service was very slow. I waited for 35 minutes to get eggs. Also, their portions sizes have been remarkably reduced. When they asked me at the register if everything was OK and I said, “No”. Their response? “That will be $18.55 please” and nothing else. They don’t care anymore.
Clean up your act go back to the old country home cooking that we loved
Now, just hold on a minute there.
With hearty Southern style portions to match.
It was fake corporate “country style” from the get go - with a Chinese store attached to
Brad's wife used to love old country cooking
@@tonyfair487 They have some real skimpy portions that make it not worth the price anymore.
As a Canadian heading to the USA with our children on vacations, Cracker Barrel was a special treat on a long drive. Good food, reasonable pricing, the store and early on the rented audio books on tape and cd. The four of us looked forward to the break from the road. Unfortunately the last few times my wife and I stopped the food was poor, small portions, inattentive service, poor cleanliness. Not much good to say about the chain. We will not be going back. I chalk it up to the same corporate greed and shortsighted behaviour of so many big organizations. Just look around at the troubles of so many institutions. The CEOs spend so much time worrying about the share prices and their bonuses they forget about their most important income, the people on the ground buying their products…..
I used to work for them. I was there for 3 months. The first two months I didn't recieve a paycheck. They use a pay card system, and they put no money on it. They told me to contact the bank. The "hr" woman at the store says "We don't deal with that here, we just do the scheduling." The bank kept showing no money on it. Finally I told them I had better get settled up by the next shift or they would answer to the labor board. What do you know, I was right the next day. After that I found another job so I was working two, so they took me off the schedule. I checked back every Thursday for about 3 weeks and finally just stopped going by. No firing, no quitting, just gone. I will never go there ever again for anything.
Maybe they need to quit “trying new things” to please a changing crowd. They did well with their traditional menu and the “changing crowd” got a taste of their traditional dishes and liked them.
Every time I visit there, they’ve dropped something on their menu in exchange for something you can get anywhere else.
Like most markets, probably trying to appeal to a “younger demographic “
Exactly!
Correct. Traditional Southern cooking hasn't changed all that much, so why is CB trying to change what made them successful?
Problem is they didn’t change fast enough , u either lead follow or get out the way , u have to change
@@inezjackson2244["WHY"]>OF>"WHEN(*&*)WHERE>"THE-CRACK-HOUSE > WENT >//" W 🤢 K E !!!"//
They have made some strategic mistakes. For a while they were really pushing alcohol - this isn't the type of restaurant for that. This upset some folks. Also, they don't open until 7 am so its difficult to go before work. It is definitely not as good as it used to be.
I think the alcohol thing is what drove alot of people away. They attracted an older crowd who are the types to come by after church and alcohol on the menu upset alot of people. Not that I care, but you have to know your customer base.
I absolutely agree with the alcohol issue. I have always liked restaurants that don't serve it. When I went into a Southern California CB recently, I was really ticked that they had put in a bar! I made a comment about my dislike of this addition on social media and received some ridicule. It was about the same time a close family member was addressing their dependence on alcohol and their journey to sobriety. So, it hit me hard that a "family" restaurant decided to introduce this as some draw for "new blood" ploy.
I mean, what is this preoccupation with alcohol?? Have an iced tea, or a coke, or glass of water with your meal!
@@2A3A66 I enjoyed having a beer with my meal, instead of sugar drinks, etc. Sorry to the folks that don’t have tolerance.
Alcohol-on-the-menu is like crack to restaurant operators. It is insanely profitable
I bet revenue has dropped since introducing alcohol to their family friendly menu.😮
Changes.
1. Bring back biscuits first. When you sit down , in 1 minute one biscuit for each person plus butter and jelly should be delivered. This is what you did in 80-90’s. Do not skimp.
2. Drop beer sales.
3. Service. Simplify menu, work on good food.
4. Smaller gift shop. Young people do not buy. Open coffee shop In gift shop. To go coffee or pick in lot during AM.
5. Always have fires in cold weather. Do not skimp.
By coffee shop, small tables to sit.
I couldn’t believe how unimpressive Cracker Barrel was when I went there in March. The biscuits were HALF the size of what they used to be, and they weren’t even ready to go on a Saturday morning. Very odd for a restaurant that was the gold standard for breakfast just a few years ago.
The quality of the food severely diminished. The new generation of cooks and wait staff don't put any effort into the service. I QUIT going 3 years ago.
They have more than doubled some of their prices over the past several years. 😢 we don’t go there any more.
Last time we ate there it was a horrible wait time .horrible service .horrible tasting food .horrible prices!!! Will not go back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Doubled the prices, cut the portions, and use lower quality food. WHAT could go WRONG?
Am not surprised. We've been Cracker Barrell loyalist for many years. On our last two trips to northeast Arkansas, we made our normal stops at CB. The prices were through the roof and the food was indistinguishable from what we'd been eating for many, many years. Was certainly sad to see how far down they'd fallen. Had to do it, swore them off. Will never go back. Not to mention the "woke" vibes from management. Go woke, go broke.
We have been consistant Cracker Barrel customers , it was a nice country place with southern home style food. Now they serve alcohol , raised prices and trying to serve food outside of their specialty. While those changes may bring in folks that normally wouldn't come, it has ruined the original dining experience that made them successful in the first place . We rarely go now .
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> [ WAS ]❗ > ((( W A S !!!❗ >>> [ " G R E A T !!!" ]❗ 🥞🥓🍳🥩🧇☕🍰🍔🥧🥔🍯🍗🍭🍤🍲🍬🥦🧈🍝🍠🧅🥗🥣🌽
Several years ago, Took my wife and kids there for breakfast, 8:00’ish on a Sunday. My wife wanted eggs over easy sent them back twice. Third time they still couldn’t get them right. She ate some items off my plate because she was hungry. We’ve, as a family, have never gone back. Within the last 10 months, my son and I went to a different CB. Was seated. They were busy but no customers waiting to get in. We waited a little over 10 minutes and a waiter never even acknowledged our presence. We got up and left. Will never go back.
This happened to me at Longhorn Steakhouse one time. Wife and me were seated and waited for 30 minutes and noone even brought water. Called the store to complain and they sent me $100 gift card (I still got it too) for a place I'll never goto again.
@@TheHiredGun187 : had that happen at another restaurant. Service was really bad, filled out an opinion card and mailed it in. A few weeks later I get a couple of free meal vouchers. I thought with the poor service, you think I’m going back? Never used them. Never ate at the restaurant after that.
Sounds to me, the Crackers had very little training and some lousy managers. Just Guessing.
@@TheHiredGun187 sell it for 55
@@TheHiredGun187use the gift card to affect their bottom dollar and give the food to homeless people, you phucking clown
They cut the portions and raised prices. Haven't been back in 10 years, corporations will be the downfall of the US. Have to have increased profits every year to keep the stock price up.
When I worked in the mall at a retail store, at seventeen, I understood that this expectation of "year over year 8-10% profit increase" was an expectation outside reality.That was 27yrs ago; That store and that entire mall no longer physically exist
Yup, but there's only so much growth out there. Especially once you're an established company. They're SUPPOSED to switch from growth at that point to maintain and just providing a good service, for a decent profit, that provides jobs etc. Everything is a freaking public company nowadays too. Not as many private companies. Most are subsidiaries even, owned by conglomerates. The modern day monopoly, basically.
It's the same phenomenon that happened to the Howard Johnson chain of restaurants. Traditional management died/retired/bought-out/forced-out and was replaced by newly minted MBA grads who knew the price of everything and the value of nothing.
SADLY, I AGREE.
My late mother's last meal was literally at a Cracker Barrel in San Antonio, TX. She loved their chicken fried steak. We lost her the next day to complications from Lyme's Disease. Last time I ate at a Cracker Barrel in Austin, TX a few years back, the service was substandard and my wife's food was cold. Good food, good service, fair prices and clean environment is a winner every time. If KB gets back to simple, good management, they'll be ok. This is not rocket science.
I never understood the logic of offering alcoholic beverages at a Cracker Barrel. A Cracker Barrel is just not that type of establishment; I doubt any beer sold made a blip in their revenue. I believe what is happening to Cracker Barrel is the same as what happened to the old Howard Johnsons restaurant chain - corporate run by executives who rarely, if ever, ate in their own restaurants.
It’s the highest margin product that a restaurant can sell, and they are desperate for cash. I eat at one fairly frequently cause it’s literally 2 minutes from my house, and never saw anyone order alcohol there.
@@chandlerwhite8302 I'm actually quite aware of that aspect for alcoholic beverages. In fact many restaurant chains won't open in a city that wouldn't let them have a bar. But, as you observed, few patrons would feel "right" ordering a beer to go along with a Cracker Barrel meal. Corporate desperation is how it came across to me; "We have to do something, even if it's dumb."
That's when I definitely stopped going.
Should have never brought in ALCOHOL.
The main issue is they were trying to change with the times and completely lost their identity. Introducing alcohol to the menu was a bad idea. Having accountants run the place instead of people who can run restaurants has lead to a decline in quality, cleanliness, and morale. I get that the pandemic had everyone hanging on by a thread, but you can't cut corners to the point that it leads to a decline in customer experience.
I will never go there again. This is not Southern food! The grits are grits soup, and the gravy for the biscuits and gravy has never seen sausage.
As many comments have said, why would you go there when the food is garbage?
Dolly has spent more money on her upkeep than Cracker Barrel has on its restaurants.
Having recently visited a Cracker Barrel I vowed to never return for many of the reasons listed: a general state of dirtiness and dustiness, cold biscuits and gravy, even the coffee was tepid at best, and slow, slow, slow service.
Yeah, it's gotten TOO EXPENSIVE for families to eat there. We are not gonna spend $20 bucks per person to eat a simple meal. Then, you gotta add TAXES and TIPS to the meal.
Exactly 100 % correct
ABSOLUTELY SPOT ON.
Let’s go Brandon! Thanks for the inflation. Prices are up nearly 30 percent since Joe took office.
It's all unaffordable. Taxed Enough Already
Some locations they BEG for tips at the cashier's stand! That is rude and unprofessional. I don't beg my clients for tips!
Who the heck wants to pay crazy prices for microwave food?
Probably your mother.
The cost of food is higher, and a good chef isn't cheap. But when we dine out, we'll pay more if the food is fresh, tasty and properly prepared. When a restaurant cuts corners on food quality and on the cleaning staff, it's not worth the higher prices.
I knew something was wrong when Cracker Barrel started their Loyalty Points Program. They would never have started it unless they were losing money.
They cut the quality of the food and they cut down the portion size and raised prices. They added alcohol and loud music so you just sit there and enjoy breakfast. The last three times I was there my table was dirty the food was cold so I just quit eating there
Our local has never recovered since Covid. Last time I went was easily over a year ago. Overworked wait staff, declining food quality and quantity, menu changes, don’t care about the alcohol, but the rest. Nah, I’m out.
My daughter applied to a Cracker Barrel in Hilliard Ohio and they basically hired on the spot. They told her the first work day to come back. When she did, they had no idea what she was talking about and then she realized ALL the leadership was new. Every supervisor/ manager left together about 2 days after my daughter interviewed. The new leadership kept promising they'd "get back to her" but never did. Apparently this is not the first time this has happened... Not sure Dolly can fix what's broken here...
Good--My girlfriend and I both got sick from food poisoning after eating at a Cracker Barrell in Georgia, that was decades ago, and we have avoided Cracker Barrell ever since
I used to be overjoyed to find a Cracker Barrel while traveling with the kids. We would fill up with good food. use the clean bathrooms. I would usually buy toys and unique candy for the family. The last time I stopped the kids wouldn’t eat the rubbery chunks and wall paper past that was served. even the corn bread was inedible. The bathrooms were filthy, The staff useless. Gift-shop filled with over priced Chinese, shop-worn junk. Haven’t been back since and don’t expect Dolly to help.
Dolly is the perfect spokesperson for Cracker Barrel. She’s so thin. She looks like she doesn’t get enough food, which is what you get when you’re served at Cracker Barrel - next to nothing.
Lol...good one, CW! 😂
LOL! That was great!
L O L
Chiming in with everyone else. The food quality has noticeably changed since the pandemic. They removed some menu items, such as the Haddock, which was one of our favorites. We haven't dined in much but with carryout, food quality issues are what we are seeing. I understand some quality issues may have come with shortages in 2020-21 but they never returned to their original quality standards when shortages ceased. It would be good to note that most of the stores closing are in the states where the economy has tanked along with high crime and extremely high prices, such as Oregon and California. However, if they're going to micromanage and continue to lower quality, the rest of the stores will follow.
Our local Cracker Barrel here in Palm Coast, FL has been one of our favorites, especially for breakfast, for many years. That is until recently when the corporate office decided to make yet another horrible and unappetizing change to their menu, and this time, they absolutely RUINED one of their previously famous items... the hashbrown casserole. A few weeks ago I was so hungry for the hashbrown casserole along with some eggs, but what I was served was so disgusting that I thought someone in the kitchen has messed up the wonderful recipe. I had our server call the manager over to our table, and told her how horrible tasting the hashbrown casserole was compared to how I know it should look and taste, and I asked her how one of the cooks could have messed it up so badly. The manager informed me that it was not a mistake, and that unfortunately the corporate office made a change in January that has affected every one of their restaurants because Cracker Barrel has gone to what the manager said was "reconstituted, dehydrated potatoes" instead of using fresh potatoes for their hashbrown casserole recipe. She told me the restaurant has had numerous complaints from customers, and she knew the company made a big mistake but there was nothing she could do herself other than apologize to me. OMG I cannot say in enough words how BAD it is, and I left a pile of gunky hydraded potato mess on my plate! YUK! When I got home I found the online customer complaint area and wrote a long complaint about this issue, and said they needed to realize they made a huge mistake and fix it ASAP before they lose the rest of their customers. All I received in response was a form reply thanking me for my input and a coupon to use in one of their restaurants for more bad food! I haven't even opened the other email that had the coupon. What a joke Cracker Barrel has become... there are so many other wonderful local restaurants here in our area that actually put out QUALITY, good tasting food. Bye Bye Cracker Barrel!
The hash brown casserole was fabulous!
It was! But No More!!! Last time it was a cold glob of mush on my plate. Absolutely terrible. But I guess if your guests have a couple alcoholic beverages in them, that would probably pass as OK.😮
My story exactly!
The hash brown casserole used to be the best item on the menu. Years ago, my husband and I would go almost every Sunday morning so that we could revel in that easy Sunday morning taste. Some years had passed and life kept us from going there, then I recently went for my birthday. Oh, no. Their hash brown casserole was not the same . I wondered if my tastebuds had changed because I could not enjoy it. That's why I came to watch this video. Thanks, skibum, for posting this. It explains a lot; a lot of disappointments.
I'm in the b section. I think we went to buffet next door. Not bad on Sunday morning.. still hard to believe good taste isn't valuable enough in small town. Quality service is asking too much.
The food, presentation, no substitution rule, coffee on short supply plus inattentive during our meal was unacceptable, like a child's first try. After close to 30 years traveling around the northeast we've never had these problems and we will not seek out each cracker barrel to find the old cracker barrel. You created the problem. Happy? It's sad.
We stopped by the CB in Springfield Ohio recently. We pass through this area quite often and we normally stop by, so we are familiar with the restaurant. We were so impressed with our waitress. I mean she was on it. It was over and above. It caught our attention so started noticing all the other help. They had a good lunch crowd so they were busy. It was impressive to watch these young people doing such a great job. They were working as a team and you could tell it. On top of it the food was the best I’ve had in a while and on time. After our meal I looked up the manger and let her know how positive our experience was in her restaurant. I gave her 2 thumps up! Keep it up Springfield, OH. It’s not all doom and gloom out there!
The Cracker Barrel in Newnan, Georgia seems to be doing okay. I hear folks complaining about this, that, & the other, but every time we go there the service is good, the food is good, the restrooms are clean, etc., etc. That goes for mornings and later in the day too!
I AGREE,
Happens to too many companies. When a founder, who was passionate about starting a business, either leaves, passes away, or sells out to a larger entity, the new management team typically lacks that passion which is required to not let the business fail. Look at Shoney's, and other businesses that tanked once ownership and management changed. The new management teams rely on strictly P&L statements and not good old fashion customer service, IMO.
I use to love the place. About year ago I ordered Chicken dumplings. It was cold and tasted like it was out of a can. I thought it was just a fluke, so I ordered it again a few months later at a different location and it was the same. Never again
Never again ...
I loved their Chicken and Dumplings but the last two times I ordered it I could only find two very small pieces of chicken. Haven't been back since.
My mom used to love their chicken and dumplings. The last time we went, she got the chicken and dumpling dinner. No chicken in it. When we asked if maybe they had plated the “side” dumplings (which didn’t have chunks of chicken) the waitress said, “that’s how it came out of the package. She wanted to go for Mother’s Day, and they told us there would be a 2 hour wait before a waitress could get our orders, and the kitchen was running behind as well. We said no to 4 hours. She really wanted chicken and dumplings, so we tried again about a month ago. Same stuff, portions even smaller. I’m paying for a meatless TV dinner, biscuits and cornbread that are tiny, almost bite sized , prices triple, food quality awful, and food that’s cold to lukewarm at best. I took Mom somewhere else a local steak place, but she was so sad…she had memories of eating at Cracker Barrel when we were young, on trips Haven’t been back.
they dont serve adult portions of it at our cb..only on the kids menu and you have to get 2😮
I asked my stepmother WHY we traveled across town to go to Cracker Barrel when there were countless better places to eat that were closer by? I think she agreed with me by the time we left, shes in her eighties and didnt know how much they had changed (nor did I).
When the Rainbow Rocking Chairs were placed on front porch is when I stopped going there…
WTF!
We haven’t been back there in over 2 years, ever since we saw pictures of the kitchen taken by an employee.
DISGUSTING!
The local Board of Health or whichever government entity thats inspecting kitchens would be to blame for that.
My last 3 times there were bad.The food was awful.silverware always dirty.I am done.
The silverware is always dirty coming from a former employee😂
@@Bootyeater999 Sad that they can't even do something as simple as CLEAN THEIR DISHES, because I've tired of CB. Prices shot thru roof and quality went to Hell.
Dateline, Lexington, NC; Pizza Hut: Dirty floors, dirty tables, "weathered" pizza on the buffet. Now gone.
The downfall makes perfect sense to me. I had a poor experience at their location in Tallahassee a few decades ago and swore I’d never go back. I haven’t gone back and now I see they’re even worse than the rare occasional problem. It’s a company pandemic.
The food and service needs to improve. The last time I ate there, it took over a hour to get our food. When it came, it was cold.
They didn't pay their mangers well. So they left and went elsewhere. Greed killed the business.
20 years ago they were some of the best paid restaurant managers out there. If that's changed, I see why the level of service has dropped so far
Corporate failure!!!
I used to LOVE CB. The food now tastes awful! What a difference the chain has transitioned from!
It used to be that when I traveled I checked the Cracker Barrell map and planned my drive to hit as many as possible. Also when family visited I would take them to Cracker Barrell for a good breakfast when they hit the road. Then they changed the menu and it was never the same. The staff and service had always been good and happy but the last two times I went in it had changed. When I spoke to the wait people the comments about corporate management were, shall we say, not highly complementary.
Last time we went to CB, one of the employees looked like he hadn't cleaned up in awhile. Another female, was tatooed and pierced from head to toe . The place was not full, and yet it took some time to receive our food. Used to be our favorite place to go out to eat.
I just watched this whole video and really was in shock and disbelief. The Cracker Barrel in my Hometown of Shrewsbury Pennsylvania has got to be one of the cleanest, nicest restaurants in the area. Great food, personable people and it's always packed.
Like most things it depends on how good the management is. Some tolerate anything and others do not.
count yourself lucky
We have gone to Cracker Barrel for 45 years. We don’t go anymore because of prices, and they took away our favorite dishes. Our local service and cleaning are excellent . It is mostly the prices. What happened to my Apple and blueberry cobblers…and turkey sausage?
And turkey bacon and getting it all together at one time???
It's not managers don't care. It's corporate is incompetent and doesn't listen. Thus, failure. When a company gets to big , the oversight suffers. Unless corporate sets up strict rules. Plus, it doesnt help that some other restaurants have raised prices to much.
I’ve left CB three times because no one came to wait on us!
many, many restaurants will go out OOB in the next 5 years. $20 for breakfast is unaffordable for the vast majority of americans. I used to get the same breakfast for $4 in 2000. how many people are making 5x the money they were making 20 year ago? please do yourself a favor and quit spending money on things you dont need.
I go to local places .. 3 egg omelette with meat, enough home fries you can’t finish and toast coffee less than 10
2 eggs, meat, home fries, toast, 7.99
@@g.t.richardson6311 Exactly. THat's a fair price, but IHOP's prices have also went to the moon. I can't & won't spend $20 bucks for stupid 2 pancakes, few eggs, and sausage.
Yes, it's $20 bucks now at my IHOP in Houston, Texas.
@g.t.richardson6311 I mean I can eat at home maybe for that but there is no where in Texas that a 3 egg omelet taters and hashbrowns with toast is $7.99 local or a chain.
@@jasonmoore3132 too bad there is here in pa
$20 for breakfast is obscene. Think of what it costs you to cook it at home. Our local Carolina Diner has complete breakfast specials @$7-8. 2 eggs, toast or biscuit, your choice of meat, lots of hash browns and grits.
The food quality and service has gone downhill. My daughter worked there for about 4 months but quit due to the poor management (which trickles down to untrained staff). She was great at her job and made great tips but she worked in the kitchen as part of the to go team and they had a broken a/c that they never fixed for over a year and she was getting light headed, was never given breaks. The place was a hot mess, literally.
I worked there for 3 weeks as a dishwasher.
“ the busiest store in the state in Kentucky “
Let me just say that I DID NOT LIKE the way they cleaned their dishes.
Our Christian family went to Cracker Barrel quite often, but then they went woke, and that was the end of that. Adios!
I’m sure Jesus would approve as he must have been anti-woke too! He really wasn’t into immigrants, sick people, poor people, LGBTQ people but sure loved the white heterosexual folks! You made the right move! Remember to judge others and to hate your neighbors, the true Christian values you surely learn at church every Sunday!
Yep
Totally their fault they forgot that with my money I can go anywhere!!!!!
My wife and I used to go there every Friday for Fish Fry. Last few times we went some of the so-called fish was nothing but crust. No fish, rude managers, we never went back.
Lost their identity about ten years ago. New CEO, changes in menus both major-started serving alcohol and minor-eliminated cheesy grits. Menu prices increased because business model called for maximizing profits over attracting large numbers of lower paying customers. No longer a family oriented restaurant.
Ate there many times. Last week we had lunch at one and I ordered apple butter to go on my biscuit. The waitress said that they now charge for apple butter……..$.50 😱
Prices, quality of food and quantity have all taken a hit.
Stopped at one in North Carolina around 7:00 pm, was seated and a waitress never came. I waited 15 minutes and got up and left!
I hope they figure it out soon.
just for thought, a roadside restaurant on the side of interstates catering to drivers, and RVers hauling 30000 pound campers down the interstate. well by george lets put alchohol on the menu...........what could go wrong. or how about this .........grandma's favorite place to go for dinner after church on Sunday. The CEO and board of directors are morons. service sucks, portions smaller, stuff fried in vegtable oil instead of lard...............thats as fake as dollies hair
Leave Dolly out of your otherwise spot on rant.
😂💀☠️
Glad you mentioned toxic seed oils. Bad stuff.
@@tonyfair487Amen to that !
Yes..the CEO and posse are morons, They get paid VERY well..all for running what used to be a great place into the ground
Stopped going to CB years ago. No matter how many tables were available, you were told you had to wait, because they wanted you to shop the store. And, frankly, their food is average, at best.
I stopped going to Cracker Barrel 6 years ago because of exactly the same reasons everyone is talking about. Longview Texas Cracker Barrel and the one in Red Oak Texas is an embarrassment to the Cracker Barrel company we once knew. Years ago I would search them out to stop with my family.
The quality of the food has taken a nose dive. Also, the last time I was there, the cashier took a 10 minute phone call while customers waited in line in front of her.
CB Corporate are doing exactly what they are told to do. Stop filling their stores and restaurants with your hard earned money and patronage.
I was locked up in the Roane County Jail in Tennessee back in ‘94 with one of the regional managers of Cracker Barrel. He got jammed up for beating on his old lady.
He said Cracker Barrel was one of the fastest growing and profitable restaurant chains at that time. He also said that it was a great investment for stock. Too bad it is falling apart today.
For many years I lived in Lebanon TN - where Dan Evans and his brother started with their first location and still is the corporate headquarters. Originally the Evans owned a Shell gas station and it was Dan Evans first wife that had the idea of having sandwiches and soup for customers for customers to have something for lunch while their car was being serviced (the station had 2 bays to work on cars). It didn't take long for the Evans to realize that having a small place to eat was more profitable than working in cars, so the bays were remodeled and Dan's wife had the idea of going to old country stores that were closed and getting items to decorate. In a few uears they got rid of the gas pumps to have more parking. I knew many people who worked at the corporate headquarters. Back in the 1980s, you could walk in, be seated and the basket of cornbread muffins and biscuits were at your table within minutes woth your beverages as you looked over the menu. Then they took the muffins and biscuits away. Then the began to source all the food from the grocery warehouses and nothing was made on location. Then to please the stockholders, they changed the menus and the maintenance on each location began to slip. I've been to several CB locations in the last 10 years and every time the bathrooms have been in worse condition than a truck stop. Perhaps they expanded too far and lost sight from what they had been known for; great service and good food.
Dan Evans retired from the company in 2001 and since then there have been 3 different CEOs, none of with related to the Evans family. Once a cash solvent company run by the Evans family as the primary stockholders, it is certainly now a business controlled by corporate greed and a mentality that is not what the restaurant was founded on. In other words, the bathrooms aren't the only thing that stinks.
I had breakfast at their Londonderry, NH restaurant and EVERYTHING of the breakfast sampler was ICE COLD! When I complained, the manager was so indifferent and couldn’t care less. I wrote that in a review on FB and yelp. I hope other travelers will take heed until they close this trash.
My biggest dislike was the change of obviously popular choices. Eggs in a basket for example. That was the reason I ate there! When they took that off their menu, they took me off of their customer list.
Damn, I thought it was just me!
My wife and I loved the eggs in a basket. We used to love going there for breakfast several times a month. No more
They don’t have enough employees, so you have dirty RR,cold food, inattentive waitresses…it’s just not Cracker Barrel lots of restaurants are in the same boat
I still go there for breakfast sometimes. When I first noticed alcohol on the menu I knew something was up. I have nothing against drinking, I like a good cocktail every now and then, BUT .... Folks don't go to Cracker Barrel for an adult beverage, they go there for the wholesome country atmosphere and country cooking.
As others have said, bring back good food, better portions for the price, and good customer service and your customers will return. Stop trying to please the bean counters!
We sat for an hour waiting for our food. The waitress said that she herself had to cook our food because of no cooking staff.
I like CB but always thought it was strange that they make eggs all kinda different ways but they don't make omelets!
Too fancy for hicks/hillbillies...lol
This is really an interesting post. Been to many CBs and was always impressed (pre-Covidish). I travel a lot. Noticed issues in late 2019 and 2020. The 2020 I just associated with Covid. The next red flag was when they started selling alcohol. That struck me odd on the image. Then things like the bathrooms were always dirty and order not right. I’ve stopped going. This could be the next Stuckey’s disaster.
Oh Suckys, oh I mean Stucky's.😮
I told my granddaughter that it’s sad that she will never know what good food tastes like.What restaurant is anywhere near as good as it used to be.All fast food sucks now and most nicer restaurants are not far behind.My last visit to Cracker Barrel was my last dime spent there.
Two weeks ago my son and I had dinner in Bentonville. I ordered the roast beef, broccoli and salad. The roast beef, which used to be fork tender, was now almost impossible to cut and it was cold. The gravy was congealed. I love slightly crunchy broccoli, but this was boiled almost into mush. My son's chicken fried steak was tough and his sides were cold also. This must be typical because there were maybe six couples in the place. Not surprised they are failing. It's caused by faulty corporate culture. They should focus on the customer experience and profits will take care of themselves.
The one near me is still packin' 'em in every day for breakfast. Guess it depends on location?!?
As former over the road trucker I attempted to eat at Cracker Barrel on 2 occasions and was not served. I sat waiting 25 minutes for the servive and walkout. She ignored me reasons dont know. I was shaved/showered in hotel next door. Since I never went to any of their restaurants.
Prices going up and food quality going down is no recipe for success. Been going for 30 years and definitely see a decline. Hardly go anymore.
I eat at Cracker Barrels across the South all the time. They are always crowded. The wait is usually 20 to 30 minutes. Clearly, there's no shortage of customers at these locations.
If there really is trouble with the business, it probably comes from them putting too much effort in places like California and Oregon, where they just don't get it. Focus on your key territory, Cracker Barrel: the South!
Over the years their food has become just like any other chain restaurant, not made from scratch on location but tasting like it comes from a plastic bag cooked at a centralized location probably several states away.
Sit down chain restaurants… Meal in a bag just boil.
I am shocked at how many people think chain restaurants have a chef in the kitchen with a measuring cup, recipe and spices preparing each dish individually. Come on people.
IF I WANT TO GO OUT TO EAT I WANT TO EAT NOT BE FORCED TO SHOP FOR 20 MINS BEFOFR BEING SEATED
Been going to Cracker Barrel for years and I’ve never once felt forced to shop. I walk through the store and to the hostess booth sit down and eat my meal pay and leave.
Got food poisoning from them, never went back
We ran into a Cracker Barrel in AZ that didn’t have any fried chicken or fish! How could that be? We probably won’t try that again.
Last time I was there they informed me that if I wanted more than one biscuit there was an extra charge. Impossible to get drink refills and the food quality isn't what it once was.
The last food I had from a cracker barrel was country fried steak with gravy. There was zero doubt that what came out on my plate was from a frozen dinner that was microwaved. I've had enough frozen dinners to know one when I see one.