- Cracker Barrel customer numbers are down 17% in four years
- The chain has closed four stores so far in 2024 after at least three last year
Cracker Barrel has closed four stores so far this year, as the beloved family chain fights for survival.
Shares of the southern country-themed chain plummeted last week after the company’s CEO said the restaurant is no longer “relevant.”
Julie Masino was speaking to investors as she described plans to turn things around at the chain, which until its closure had 662 locations in 45 states.
Popularity has waned over the past decade, and its loyal clientele of seniors did not return after the pandemic.
To cut costs, it has already closed four stores this year: two in California, one in Oregon and another in Colombia, South Carolina. See below for full details.
Cracker Barrel has lost a significant 16 percent of diners in the last four years, and the trend continues
Cracker Barrel says it will open two more locations this year. It is unclear if it will close again.
Last year it closed three more stores in Oregon.
The decline in customers has affected the share price in recent years.
But the price plummeted further after its CEO, Julie Felss Masino, told investors: “We’re just not as relevant as we used to be.”
He was speaking on a call to investors.
Masino, who took over as CEO nine months ago, admitted: “Some of our recipes and processes haven’t evolved in decades.”
On Thursday, May 24, Cracker Barrel was trading at just $45.35, its lowest level in more than a decade.
The restaurant rose to fame after its founding in 1969 when customers flocked to its all-American dishes, such as biscuits and gravy and fried chicken.
Of the closures, Cracker Barrel said in a statement: “The decision to close a store is never something we take lightly, and our focus now is on supporting our impacted employees during this transition.”
445 Center Drive in Medford, Oregon
253 Forum Drive in Columbia, South Carolina
1000 Howe Ave. in Sacramento, California
905 Betteravia Road in Santa Maria, California