Cracker Barrel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. | |
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| Type | Public (NASDAQ: CBRL) |
| Founded | 1969 in Lebanon, Tennessee |
| Headquarters | United States |
| Key people | Dan Evans, Chairman Emeritus/Co-Founder;Tommy Lowe, Co-Founder; Michael Woodhouse, Chairman/CEO |
| Industry | Restaurants/Retail |
| Products | Homestyle country food/gifts |
| Revenue | ▲$2.06 billion USD (2004) |
| Employees | Approx. 150 per store |
| Website | www.crackerbarrel.com |
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc., is a chain of 557 "Old Country Stores" (as of 2007), each combining a retail store and a restaurant in 41 states across the United States, based in Lebanon, Tennessee.
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[edit] Overview
The Cracker Barrel chain 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 ornaments and other decorations.
[edit] Controversy
In 1991, Cracker Barrel instituted a policy requiring employees to display "normal heterosexual values which have been the foundation of families in our society." According to the text of Understanding and Managing Diversity, 17 workers were fired because they admitted or were assumed to be gay after the first few months that the policy was created. The company refused to change their policy in the face of protest demonstrations by gay rights groups. However, in 2002, the company's stockholders, in a proxy vote of historic proportion, voted 58% to rescind the practice after 10 years of efforts by the New York City Employees Retirement System, a major shareholder. While a formal shareholder vote was never taken, immediately after that, the board of directors added sexual orientation to the company's nondiscrimination policy.
In the early 2000s and again in 2006, Cracker Barrel faced accusations including a pattern of racial discrimination[1] in its treatment of customers. After national press attention to these accusations, the company announced explicit policies intended to address the charges, and the most prominent critics have not repeated their criticisms, but still they did end up paying $2 million for race and sexual harassment at three Illinois restaurants [1]. 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.
Cracker Barrel was one of 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 Rep. Tom DeLay.[2][3] Less than five months later, however, all charges against Cracker Barrel were dropped.
In May 2007 Cracker Barrel temporarily removed hamburgers from its menu at most 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.[4]
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Cracker Barrel Old Country Store
- CBRL Group website, corporate parent
