Cracker Barrel, the restaurant chain known for its local cuisine and rustic gift shops, faces a challenge as it tries to attract younger customers without alienating its aging base of loyal fans.
According to company data, approximately 43 percent of Cracker Barrel guests are at least 55 years old, while only 23 percent are under 34 years old.
Cracker Barrel’s recent quarterly results were disappointing, with traffic during the main summer season falling short of expectations and revenue roughly flat from a year ago.
In response, the chain is now serving alcohol as an enticement to the hip Sunday brunch crowd, and is preparing to launch a new loyalty program this month, with points known as ‘Pegs’ (after the wooden pegs that adorn each table) .
Cracker Barrel has also embraced a pair of TikTok users who went viral this summer after leaving an “old-fashioned” photo of themselves on the wall of one of its restaurants, hidden among the eclectic décor that adorns each location.
Cracker Barrel, the restaurant chain known for its local cuisine and rustic gift shops, faces a challenge in its attempt to attract younger customers
According to company data, approximately 43 percent of Cracker Barrel guests are at least 55 years old, while only 23 percent are under 34
The TikTokers, Ashley Zessin Shelley and Darcy Gashweiller (@this_is_40ish) dressed in overalls for a black and white photo, which they left on the mantle of a Cracker Barrel fireplace as a harmless joke.
Shelley and Gashweiller weren’t the first to pull off the Cracker Barrel photo prank, which first became a TikTok trend in 2021. Today Toon reported.
This time, Cracker Barrel responded by hiring the duo as paid social media marketing partners after their prank went viral in June.
The company provided them with merchandise and took them on a tour of the Tennessee warehouse that houses the chain’s inventory of restaurant decorations.
“Part of what makes Cracker Barrel special is that we have a multi-generational guest base. Guests of all ages and backgrounds enjoy visiting us,” the company told DailyMail.com in a statement.
“Over the past few years, like many other concepts, we have taken several measures to ensure we meet the evolving needs of all our guests,” the company added.
But as the company tries to broaden its appeal, it hopes to avoid turning off older customers who remain a key part of its business – a tightrope walk that is proving difficult, according to its latest earnings results.
In the quarter ended July 28, Cracker Barrel reported total revenue of $836.7 million, up just 0.8 percent from a year ago.
Restaurant same-store sales rose 2.4 percent from a year ago, but were offset by retail sales at gift shops, which fell 6.8 percent.
The company’s shares are down 27 percent so far this year, compared with a 6 percent gain for Darden Restaurants, owner of Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse.
TikTokers, Ashley Zessin Shelley and Darcy Gashweiller (@this_is_40ish) dressed in overalls for a black and white photo, which they jokingly left on the mantle of a Cracker Barrel fireplace
Cracker Barrel responded by hiring the duo as paid marketing partners, supplying them with merchandise and taking them on a tour of the warehouse that houses the chain’s decorations.
Cracker Barrel is known for the gift shop in each restaurant, packed with tchotchkes and trinkets that tie in with the brand’s old-school country store theme
Founded in 1969 in Lebanon, Tennessee, where it remains headquartered, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store operates more than 660 namesake locations in 45 states.
The company also owns Maple Street Biscuit Company, a breakfast and lunch chain with more than 50 locations that caters to a younger customer base.
But the company relies heavily on traffic from baby boomers over 65, who make up more than a quarter of guests at the flagship chain Cracker Barrel.
By comparison, about 80 percent of rival Applebee’s customers are Generation X or younger, including a third of them millennials.
Sandy Cochran, CEO of Cracker Barrel, told investors during a Sept. 13 conference call that the company’s recent decline in traffic was “broad-based” across all age groups.
Cochran said business in the 65+ age group still has not recovered to levels before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted consumer behavior, especially among older Americans.
That continued decline in traffic from older customers had given new urgency to the chain’s push to attract younger guests.
In recent years, Cracker Barrel has added beer and wine to the menu, as well as “Barrel Bites” shareable plates, such as loaded tater tots and cookie fritters.
The company has also become more tech-savvy, adding online waiting lists and mobile payment at the table via QR code – although these innovations could reduce time spent in the restaurant’s gift shop with its tempting array of trinkets.
A Cracker Barrel promotion for Grandparents Day features some of the chain’s regulars
Customers are seen outside a Cracker Barrel. Even the rocking chairs for the restaurant are for sale
Sandra Cochran, former CEO of Cracker Barrel, (left) will step down in November and hand the reins to Julie Felss Masino (right), a 52-year-old former Taco Bell executive
Later this month, Cracker Barrel will launch a new one rewards program that earns points for spending at both the restaurant and the store, redeemable for menu items or gift shop credit.
“The program will highlight and leverage all of the unique and differentiated aspects of our brand – both retail and restaurant – in a way that we believe will appeal to Cracker Barrel fans, encourage more frequent visits and show them our appreciation for dining and shopping at us,” Cracker Barrel told DailyMail.com.
Frederick DeMicco, a professor at Northern Arizona University’s School of Hotel and Restaurant Management, called Cracker Barrel’s recent initiatives to attract younger guests “a good start” in an email to DailyMail.com.
“I think they’re going to have to appeal to millennials, Generations Z and
DeMicco also suggested the company could consider marketing campaigns with high-profile celebrity partners and invest in technology to improve the takeout experience for at-home family meals.
“The key is a smart app and a smart approach to the remote ordering and collection activities,” he said.
Cracker Barrel has also recently shaken things up in the C-suite, with an infusion of fresh blood that could bring new thinking to the brand.
Longtime CEO Cochran, 65, will step down in November and hand the reins to Julie Felss Masino, a 52-year-old former Taco Bell executive.
Shortly after the CEO transition was announced in July, Cracker Barrel Chief Marketing Officer Jennifer Tate resigned “to pursue other professional opportunities.”
Tate is now CMO at Hardee’s owner CKE Restaurants, and her replacement at Cracker Barrel has yet to be announced.