cracker-barrel

Cracker Barrel

Type	Public (NASDAQ: CBRL)
Founded	September 19, 1969
Headquarters	Lebanon, Tennessee, U.S.
Number of locations	588
Area served	United States
Key people	Michael A. Woodhouse (CEO) Forrest Shoaf (CFO)
Industry	Restaurants
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)
Employees	65,000+
Parent	CBRL Group
Website	http://www.crackerbarrel.com

The "Old Country Store" half of a Cracker Barrel restaurant

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc., is a chain of "Old Country Stores," each combining a retail store and a restaurant. As of September 2009, the company, founded in 1969 and based in Lebanon, Tennessee, was operating 591 full-service locations located in 41 states in the United States.^[1] 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.^[2]

Overview

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. 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.^{[citation needed]}

The inscription on this souvenir pillow is also used on other items in the store

Legal actions

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. They have also been in alleged involvement in political corruption scandals.^[3]

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." The company refused to change their policy in the face of protest demonstrations by gay rights groups. After 10 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.^[4]

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.^[5]

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.^[6] 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.^[7]

Alleged unlawful political campaign contributions

The Cracker Barrel off Interstate 35 in San Antonio, Texas

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 many felt were unfair. ^[8][9] 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.^[10]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Cracker Barrel

• Cracker Barrel Old Country Store
• CBRL Group website, corporate parent