Admittedly, I haven’t been to Cracker Barrel in many years. I had one near my hometown but nowhere near where I live now, so I’m missing out on those delicious biscuits and that country fried shrimp. If you, however, are lucky enough to have one of their restaurants close by, I recommend hitting them up when their dining room reopens, especially since Cracker Barrel is adding beer and wine to their menu!
- Cracker Barrel’s menu shakeup is a strategic move. According to Nation’s Restaurant News, the chain expects sales to be “choppy” as locations start to open up when social distancing restrictions ease. Not only that, but CEO Sandra B. Cochran allegedly told investors that “everyone is having trouble predicting what’s going to happen” in the coming months.
- The chain has faced “unprecedented challenges.” In a statement to the publication, Cochran explained that the pandemic has caused difficulties for Cracker Barrel and that switching up the menu was only one small part of their strategy moving forward. “I believe our strategic priorities, such as accelerating our off-premise business, combined with the rapid actions we took to bolster liquidity, strengthen our business model and adapt our operations to the circumstances have positioned us well for the recovery period to come,” she said.
- Cracker Barrel tested having alcohol on the menu before the pandemic started. Beer and wine were available in 20 testing locations prior to all of this, and now Cracker Barrel is ready to expand on that at other restaurants. Not only are beer and wine available but also mimosas in two flavors, orange and strawberry.
- They might be decreasing their food offerings for a while too. Restaurant Business Online reports that some of your favorites might be missing from the Cracker Barrel menu the next time you visit, at least temporarily, as they’ll be focusing on a “smaller and simpler-to-execute menu” that includes things like chicken pot pie and Saturday Fried Pork Chops. I need to get to one soon!
