This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 28bytes (talk | contribs) at 00:14, 1 November 2011 (add info & ref). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 00:14, 1 November 2011 by 28bytes (talk | contribs) (add info & ref)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) This article is about the restaurant-and-store chain. For the Kraft Foods brand, see Kraft Foods. | This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Cracker Barrel" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (August 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| File:CrackerBarrelLogo.PNG | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Traded as | Nasdaq: CBRL |
| Industry | Restaurants |
| Founded | September 19, 1969 |
| Headquarters | Lebanon, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Number of locations | 604 |
| Area served | United States |
| Key people | Michael A. Woodhouse (CEO) Forrest Shoaf (CFO) |
| Revenue |  US$ $2.367 Billion (2009) |
| Operating income | US $142.24 Million (2009) |
| Net income |  US $65.93 Million (2009) |
| Total assets | US $198.33 Million (2009) |
| Total equity | US $135.62 Million (2009) |
| Number of employees | 65,000+ |
| Website | http://www.crackerbarrel.com |
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc., is a chain of "Old Country Stores," each combining a retail store and a restaurant. As of May 2011, the company, founded in 1969 and based in Lebanon, Tennessee, was operating 588 full-service locations located in 42 states in the United States. In 2009, Cracker Barrel was ranked as the top "family dining" chain for the 19th consecutive year in Restaurants & Institutions magazine "Choice in Chains" annual consumer survey.
Format and extent
The Cracker Barrel chain is a Southern themed chain, and serves traditional Southern comfort food. Their outlets have traditionally been located along interstate highways, though the company policy on this appears to be changing. Breakfast is served all day, though the breakfast menu is kept separate from the one for lunch and dinner. Both menus include a low-carb section.
The outer porch of a Cracker Barrel store has rows of rocking chairs for guests to enjoy before or after eating, and there is usually a fireplace and a checkers table within the dining area for an added country feel; patrons are welcome to sit down for a game. Each table typically includes a wooden peg solitaire game. The interior walls of the dining area are decorated with antiques such as photographs, advertisements, and household items.
The retail store carries mainly nostalgic merchandise, collectibles, old time toys, classic candies, scented candles, and items used in making Cracker Barrel entrees. Also, a lot of merchandise sold at Cracker Barrel is holiday themed, depending on the time of year. It is known for selling Christmas, Easter, and Halloween ornaments and other decorations.
Cracker Barrel operates 588 stores in 42 states as of 22 May 2011. The original Cracker Barrel was located on Highway 109 just north of I-40 in Wilson County, TN. Despite change over the years, the original store can still be visited; however, it is now a Citgo gas station.
Controversy
Cracker Barrel has been embroiled in controversy through the years, first with gay rights groups and then with claims of racial discrimination and sexual harassment.
Policy of discrimination against LGBT employees
In 1991, Cracker Barrel instituted a policy requiring employees to display "normal heterosexual values which have been the foundation of families in our society which the company has traditionally sought to uphold". The company refused to change their policy in the face of protest demonstrations by gay rights groups. After ten years of proposals by the New York City Employees Retirement System, a major shareholder, the company's shareholders voted 58% in 2002 in favor of rescinding the policy. The board of directors added sexual orientation to the company's nondiscrimination policy.
Nonetheless, Cracker Barrel, along with Archer Daniels Midland and Nestle Purina Pet Care, achieved the lowest score (15 out of 100) of all rated food and beverage companies in the Human Rights Campaign's 2008 Corporate Equality Index, a measure of gay and lesbian workplace equality. Their score for 2011 had improved to a 55.
Complaints of pattern of alleged racial discrimination against guests
In the early 2000s and again in 2006, Cracker Barrel faced accusations including a pattern of racial discrimination in its treatment of guests. After national press attention to these accusations, the company announced explicit policies intended to address the charges, and paid $2 million for race and sexual harassment at three Illinois restaurants. Stores now display a sign in their front foyer clarifying this policy, as has become the policy after a similar incident involving Denny's restaurants.
Alleged unlawful political campaign contributions
Cracker Barrel was among eight companies indicted and accused of making alleged illegal corporate campaign contributions to the Texans for a Republican Majority political action committee (TRMPAC), started by former U.S. Representative Tom DeLay, allegations that some considered unfair. Less than five months later, however, all charges against Cracker Barrel were dropped.
Food scare
In May 2007, Cracker Barrel temporarily removed hamburgers from its menu at many of its locations after a patron ate a metal fragment resembling part of a razor blade in her hamburger at a restaurant in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
-
The inscription on this souvenir pillow reflects the overall Cracker Barrel theme.
-
A clerk waits on customers at the Cracker Barrel off Meacham Road in Fort Worth, Texas
References
- pg.7
- ^ About Cracker Barrel Restaurants
- Consumers' Choice in Chains: Family Dining
- Hall, Jason (July 12, 1999). "Cracker Barrel: country-fried success since 1999". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. p. 10. Retrieved October 31, 2011.
- "Cracker Barrel Directors Vote to Prohibit Anti-Gay Discrimination ", Gaytoday.com
- http://www.hrc.org/documents/HRC_Corporate_Equality_Index_2008.pdf 2008 Corporate Equality Index. Accessed 27 November 2007.
- "Cracker Barrel To Pay $2 Million For Race And Sexual Harassment At Three Illinois Restaurants" lawmemo.com
- USA Today, 2004-05-07.
- CBS News, 2004-06-15.
- NPR.
- Fox News.
External links
- Official website
- CBRL Group website, corporate parent