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Here is how we'll save dying Cracker Barrel: CEO to spend $700m on 5-point plan - with quirky menu items, paint job and price rises
Cracker Barrel hopes splashing out $700 million on refurbishing its restaurants can save the dying chain.
The six-point plan includes a makeover for stores with brighter colors to make them less dated, a new logo and new menus.
New items on the simplified menu include green chilli cornbread and hashbrown casserole shepherd's pie. Two stores have already been refurbished and ten others are testing a refreshed menu.
But CEO Julie Masino said prices in many outlets will rise.
The Southern country-themed restaurants, with 662 locations across the nation, has lost more than a sixth of its customers in just four years - and the trend is ongoing.
Falling customers has led to stores shutting and bosses developing a plan to turn things around.
But when Masino was outling those plans last week, she told investors the chian was 'not as relevant as it once was' - which tanked the company's stock.
At Cracker Barrel, over 65s are the most common age group of customers
One of the key challenges is to attract younger customers - with Cracker Barrel most loyal patrons being over-65.
Masino, who joined nine months ago from Taco Bell, outlined the five pillars of improvement in the earnings call. DailyMail.com listened to it - and we summarize the plan below.
'The brand has lost some of its shine and particularly post-pandemic,' she said. 'But to ignite growth, we must revitalize the brand.'
Refreshed logos
'Cracker Barrel is an iconic brand, but even iconic brands have to evolve. We know from our research that despite high levels of consumer affinity, we're just not as relevant as we once were,' Masino said.
The company has engaged a branding agency to come up with a new logo and colors - but still 'continue to be rooted in our country heritage and legacy'.
New menu - and prices
'Our second strategic pillar is all about what makes up about 80 per cent of our sales, our menu,' she said.
She added: 'In February, we launched a core menu revamp test that included approximately 20 new items, several modified items and over 20 deletions.
'We've been pleased with the guest response. For example, eight of the new lunch and dinner entrees are in the top 20 for entree product mix at these stores.
'We're also seeing strong mix from new items in other categories, such as our green chili cornbread and our banana pudding.'
Cracker Barrel now has the new menu in ten stores. Some of the items will go to all restaurants in the fall.
These include premium savory chicken and rice, slow-braised pot roast and hash brown casserole shepherd's pie.
To speed things up and cut costs they will no longer hand cut lettuce.
Masino gave a clue that prices could go up too.
Cracker Barrel has five pricing tiers for areas with different costs - but she said 60 per cent of outlets were in the lowest cost tier.
She said some coud be charging more.
'We have stores in metro areas with an average annual household income of $55,000 in the same pricing tier as one with $90,000,' she said.
But she added that in some areas menu prices could be cut.
'I want to emphasize that optimizing our price points across the menu doesn't mean just increasing prices,' she said.
'In several places, it may actually mean taking the opposite approach. We understand the lower-end consumer is challenged, and value is and will remain an important part of the brand, and we will work vigorously to protect it.'
Cracker Barrel stores have vast menus, with items like Chicken N' Dumplins, which costs $11.49.
Cracker Barrel sells food like chicken tenders for $12.99
Cracker Barrel stores will get an update. This is one of the old designs
The business tanked even more when its chief executive Julie Felss Masino told investors, 'We're just not as relevant as we once were'
Revamped stores
Cracker Barrels are deliberately meant to reflect an old-time country store that sells bits-and-bobs, and simple comfort food.
Masino said she will change the ;store design and atmosphere.' There will be investment in 'aging' stores.
She hinted at a new look. 'Historically, Cracker Barrel has made limited changes to our design esthetic,' she said.
'And we've probably relied a little too much on what was perceived to be the timeless nature of our concept.
'We began conducting a pilot remodel in two test stores. This included refreshing the interior and exterior of these stores by using a different color pallet, updating lighting, offering more comfortable seating and simplifying decor and fixtures.'
The stores have been a hit and are set to be rolled out. It expects to complete 25-30 remodels in fiscal 2025.
Loyalty app and delivery
She said that Cracker Barrel Rewards has 5 millin members after luanching in mid-September - up 25 per cent on projections.
The company also plans to offer more delivery via companies like Uber Eats.
Staff perks
The comany plans to make it a better palce for staff to work - with better training, simpler roles and more technology to help them do their job.
'Our people are at the heart of everything we do,' she said. And ultimately, when you feel good about where you work and what you do, you're happier. And that translates to the guests.
Pricing was not one of the pillars, but Masino gave a clue to price rises.
Cracker Barrel has five pricing tiers for areas with different costs - but she said 60 per cent of outlets were in the lowest cost tier.
She said some coud be charging more.
'We have stores in metro areas with an average annual household income of $55,000 in the same pricing tier as one with $90,000,' she said.
But she added that in some areas menu prices could be cut.
The company's plan has had mixed reactions. Since the call on May 16, the 54-year-old company's shares fell by nearly 20 percent.
On Thursday May 24, Cracker Barrel traded as low as $45.35 - its lowest level in over a decade. It is down 40 percent in total this year.
The restaurant rose to prominence after it was founded in 1969 as patrons flocked to its all-American dishes, like biscuits and gravy and fried chicken.
Management don't anticipate the expensive re-brand to pay off until late 2026 and 2027.
Cracker Barrel has lost a significant 16 percent of diners over the past four years - and the trend is ongoing.
'A big reason the stock is down is that there wasn't much of a plan,' Truist analyst Jake Bartlett told the New York Post.
Cracker Barrel has lost a significant 16 percent of diners over the past four years - and the trend is ongoing
'They announced a plan for a plan but they didn't give investors enough information to judge whether reinvesting in the stores was a credible plan to address the traffic losses.'
One particular obstacle that the company is facing is attracting young customers.
'They have a lot of senior consumers, so long term they need to migrate away from that consumer,' Bartlett said.
However the company, which faced backlash for its anti-LGBT policies in the 1990s, has had a hard time keeping its senior clientele while bringing in Gen Z customers.
Last year, Cracker Barrel was accused of 'going woke' when the restaurant lined its front porches with rainbow-colored rocking chairs during Pride Month - and customers even boycotted the chain, which has locations in 45 states.