Key points:
- Cracker Barrel has tried to pivot to broaden its customer base after discovering that country folk spend less in tough times.
- The restaurant decor changes are probably a mistake. Hopefully CB will realize that the immersive nostalgia that accompanied its rise is central to its purpose in the market.
I will sincerely attempt to refrain from “analyzing” companies in crisis on this blog. If you’re interested in systematic analysis, see my other posts. This short post is simply my unsystematic 2 cents. There are two reasons that crises are bad times to analyze culture: 1. In a crisis, all of the vultures (competitors, investors) swoop in and try to pick at the down-on-its-luck company’s bones; and 2. In a crisis, people at large will hate-monger to get attention. A crisis is oftentimes both cultural and anti-cultural at the same time and is therefore a poor candidate for cultural analysis. Also, simply put, I hope Cracker Barrel can right itself.
My guess is that the storm of inflation and tough financial times in the U.S. cut deep into CB’s revenue, as many consumers have needed to cut back on eating out. A restaurant that caters especially to folks who appreciate country living will suffer when rustic roots call on people to save money. Cracker Barrel did raise prices. My family found that out the hard way on a couple of occasions, though we’ve always been generally impressed with CB’s food quality. So Cracker Barrel executives decided to change course, moving away from a rural aesthetic and appealing to a broader patronage. The logo change is being reversed (last I heard). Hopefully CB executives will rethink the restaurant remodels as well.
I saw a YouTube video in which one of Cracker Barrel’s original co-founders, Tommy Lowe, made an interesting comment. He said, “Cracker Barrel doesn’t have any competition.” I think those are wise words. Try to think of any other restaurant chain that you can stop at in any mid-sized to large city in the U.S. that will throw such a barrage of nostalgia at you. It was genius decades ago, and it’s genius today. It will suffer in economic downturns, but the model is unique and can bounce back when things level out. Also, if CB’s C suite is worried about items from the past offending potential customers, the solution is simple: just cull specific artifacts without telling anyone. Due to the existing mountain of antiques in any given Cracker Barrel, most people would never notice.