Cracker Barrel has fallen

#78
#78
05_never_again said:
I think your crowd might be an exception to the rule. Almost 50% of their customers are over 55 years old. The menu, decor, the store, etc., doesn't exactly scream Millennial or Gen-Z. Their older, conservative crowd doesn't like the changes and the younger crowd they are trying to appeal to can see what they're doing. My grandparents really got rubbed the wrong way when they started selling alcohol.

CB is an extremely well-established brand; everybody knows what it is, and so it is difficult for them to broaden out. And I think another issue of theirs, as you and others have suggested, is that the food simply isn't all that good. That part is probably the easiest to fix - Chili's definitely has done that over the last few years and has reinvigorated itself Millennials, who famously "killed chain restaurants."

It isn't like things were going great there, then they made all these changes, and now everybody hates them. Their brand, product, etc., had been trending negatively for quite a long time, and they stuff they're doing to try and fix it isn't working. The exact same thing happened to Bud Light and ESPN.
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So what, Chili's sucks now. Always thought it was one of the better one's. Loved the southwest egg rolls and hte country fried steak and gravy. We just happened to be infrequent patrons for whatever reason. Not sure why cause we always liked it. We did have some fundamental service issues last time we went 2-3 years ago and that's last time we visited the local one. But food was still good.

But, if texas Roadhouse ever screws it up I will be pissed. Only decent chain steak left in the country. I can get a full 16oz sirloin there with not one single bite of grissle. Texas Roadhouse is the only place I will not complain about what's on the receipt.

I don't mind the CB update. No biggie. The shift in food quality is obvious and detrimental to the brand. last 3-4 years maybe we began to notice. Moreso even last 2. CB used to be the gold standard of really good home cooked food at a fair price on anything you ordered. This is an epic shift backwards for them.

CB should have studied Applebee's for what happens when food quality declines. But, in it's peak days, I tore me up some riblets and house sirloins. Ironically the bourbon street sirloin always lacked in flavor and tenderness, but the house sirloin was perfection for years.
 
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#79
#79
GVF said:
I don't remember that. Obviously never ordered it. Guess it'd basically be a pepperoni stick hoagie.

In all these burger discussion threads, a burger from Shoney's or Big Boy in their peak days would have beat out erry one.
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You would think that is what it was; but it beats no resemblance to the snack stick other than the name
IMG_2440.jpeg

  • Slim Jim®​

    Grilled, smokehouse ham served on a toasted hoagie with melted Swiss cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, pickles and our signature Shoney's® sauce.
 
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#85
#85
BigOrangeMojo said:
Yeah, changing the recipes for vegatables to appeal to Vegans and Vegatarians isnt what the customers wanted.

People arent going to the Cracker Barrel for quinoa.

Plant based meats isnt what the customers wanted..
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Only way that dog food gets in my body is if the morgue stuffs me with it.
 
#90
#90
GVF said:
Our company provides the new banquette seating and front of house cash wraps. They claim market studies were indicating they were too dark and needed a updating.

My opinion is the fall off in the quality of CB food even in just the last few years. We don't do CB often, but the last 3 times we have it might as well have been IHOP food. The cult classic hashbrown casserole is anemic in flavor and texture compared to the past. And doesn't even seem fresh anymore. Like they went to pre-prepped and packaged corporate dishes that just get thawed/reheated on the kitchen line. Like Red Lobster or Olive Garden.

Oddly, the Mt. Juliet location was one of maybe a half dozen pilot locations for the update and got really strong customer response and they ran with it.

Make good food fresh, and they will come. Decor is secondary at best.
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Mr Juliet is a suburb of Nashville; taken over by Californian immigrants. I am not surprised that it does well there. I don’t think they will get the same reception in Kingsport
 
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#93
#93
Never been a big Cracker Barrel fan. Food has always been marginal imo.
Gimme some Waffle House, though. All day.
 
#97
#97
OrangeTsar said:
My accusation against CB don’t involve the word „woke“ but instead center around the word „corporate“. The tendency of businesses schools to turn out cookie cutter MBAs who have absolutely no concept of the businesses that they are hired to manage.
And the incentive structure is backwards. Even if a CEO absolutely destroys the brand, they retire with full bonuses and a golden parachute and then soon get hired to „run“ another company.
There is no approbation attached to failure.
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Good post. I’d like to see the chart they used to defend getting rid of Uncle Herschel on the logo and his breakfast which was the most popular. Uncle was the uncle of Evins, the original owner out of Lebanon.
Don’t need a chart to show you lose your base when you make a 70 yr old man, eating his weekly UH breakfast for the past 30 years and being part of a group who’s kept your restaurant afloat for 4-5 decades, feel you don’t want his business anymore.
This is similar to Bud Light, Target and Ruby Tuesday where you have a good thing going then some MBA with no common sense comes in and wrecks it.
“My plan is to go away from our customer base 80/20 rule and get rid of the most popular item on the menu while we replace it with herb roasted chicken.”
Hey mba, nobody goes to beef up at CB on roasted freaking chicken. Schmuck.
 
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#98
#98
The food quality has went down in recent years, but this is crazy. Someone says it looks like Long John Silvers and/or Zaxbys with a gift shop and I agree. CB was always one of those places you thought would remain the same, but hire this kind of CEO and that’s what you get.

On a different note, the one where I live used to sell gas in the 70’s I think. I guess a lot of them did.
 
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#99
#99
BigOrangeMojo said:
Ill rephrase

Sandra Cochran and Julie Felss Masino are so incompetent the share price has fallen by 75% in the past few years since they cant master basic restaurant task like a menu and to go ordering. They are covering up their incompetence of performing basic restaurant operations by blaming outdated branding. They think the old man and the barrel are why the brand isnt relevant but fail to look at their decisions for the real reason why it isnt relevant..
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Well Hell! Now everyone is picking on old men. Not that I'm paranoid.
 
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