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Some Cracker Barrel customers say they wish the chain would focus more on what it serves on its tables instead of how it decorates its walls.
The restaurant chain is renovating some of its restaurants, opting for brighter paint jobs and nixing the lattice dividers mounted with antiques. The changes have drawn mixed reactions. Some on social media are lamenting the loss of Cracker Barrel’s nostalgic appeal, while other longtime customers say they care more about what’s on the plate.
Nina Burton, who dined at a renovated Cracker Barrel location in East Ridge, Tennessee, earlier this year, told Business Insider that she didn’t mind the restaurant’s white walls or streamlined collection of antiques that decorated the location.
“I would like the menu, however, to return to the down-home style it once was,” Burton said. For her, that means Cracker Barrel should focus less on serving mimosas and other alcoholic drinks and more on dishes like Chicken Pot Pie, which she said isn’t as good as it used to be.
Cracker Barrel is in the midst of a turnaround effort. CEO Julie Masino said last year that the chain, which is known for its Southern-affected rural decor, is “not as relevant as we once were.”
Under Masino, Cracker Barrel has started renovating some of its roughly 650 stores. About 20 have undergone remodels, Masino said on a company earnings call in June. The company did not comment on this story by press time.
The company has also spent the past year testing new items in what it calls the “largest menu test” in its history.
On a recent trip to a location in Virginia, Business Insider tried some of the new Cracker Barrel items, including blueberry pancakes and a s’mores latte. The chain has also brought back some menu items from past years, including “campfire” meals with meat and roasted vegetables.
But some of the basics also need work, Barbara, a Cracker Barrel customer who approved of the renovations, told Business Insider. She asked not to be identified by her full name for privacy reasons.
During one recent visit, she said, her server brought her an order of “brown, hard biscuits.” This suggested to her that the location had issues in the kitchen.
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Cracker Barrel’s renovations themselves have become a point of contention on social media.
One video posted on TikTok in March shows a renovated store, with the poster captioning it “bright and inviting.” But some commenters disagreed.
“Like the old nostalgia much better, it was so comforting!” one user posted.
“It’s now basically an IHOP,” another user said.
Do you have a story to share about Cracker Barrel or another restaurant chain? Reach out to this reporter at ktangalakislippert@insider.com
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