Exclusive | Cracker Barrel cost-cutters ordered – Business News
It’s not simply Cracker Barrel’s ill-fated brand change that has been irking prospects — as company bean counters this yr quietly compelled the chain to serve up day-old biscuits and microwaved meatloaf, The Post has realized.
The unsavory menu staples on the folksy restaurant — together with biscuits that arrived at tables “hard,” “rubbery” and “like a rock” — had been the consequence of a nonpublic February directive that prioritized “cost savings” and “efficiency” over buyer satisfaction, a number of staff instructed The Post.
Cracker Barrel’s menu staples, together with meat loaf and biscuits, had been made the day earlier than they had been served to diners. BACKGRID
Instead of making biscuits contemporary every day as Cracker Barrel’s kitchens had finished for years, the chain’s 650 places had been ordered to bake them a day prematurely and freeze them — then reheat them in sizzling containers the following day, one veteran cook instructed The Post.
“They thought that we’d be faster and out sooner if we weren’t rolling out bread,” the source mentioned.
“People want biscuits to be buttery and soft,” she added. “The most common complaint we’ve gotten is that our biscuits are sometimes like a rock.”
Likewise, Cracker Barrel’s signature meatloaf was cooked the day earlier than and tossed into a microwave for simply over a minute earlier than being served — one other stealthy measure to avoid wasting money, based on sources.
Cracker Barrel got here beneath fire in August after it modified its brand. Clint Brewer Photography / BACKGRID
“Before, we cooked it in our oven and the cook would cut it up still in the pan, which was in our steam line,” the cook mentioned. “It was fresher.”
Shortly after final month’s brand backlash, the company scrapped its penny-pinching methods for food prep, sources instructed The Post. Both edicts got here down after embattled Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Felss Masino — who despatched the company’s stock tumbling final yr when she admitted the chain was “just not as relevant as we once were” — axed prep cooks and more lately cut employees’ hours, based on sources.
“The changes [to how food is prepared ] were to account for the labor shortage in the kitchen,” mentioned the veteran cook.
Servers are more and more beneath strain to upsell visitors on appetizers, drinks and desserts. BACKGRID
As reported by The Post, Cracker Barrel’s meatloaf attracted social media consideration final month when a TikToker posted a video that presupposed to be taken inside one of the chain’s kitchens.
“We throw it in a microwave and then we serve it to you,” based on the video, which panned to stacked trays allegedly crammed with pre-packaged meatloaf. “And sometimes it’s still cold.”
It’s not simply biscuits and meatloaf which have suffered. Bacon has been equally pre-cooked as of this yr and saved in a sizzling box till its served, staff instructed The Post.
Some kitchen employees have complained in regards to the company’s new insurance policies about how the food is ready. BACKGRID
“Our green beans, and pinto beans, turnips, corn and carrots used to be cooked in big pots on the stove, but now we put them in pans in the oven the day before,” she mentioned.
“They think its more efficient, but the corn and carrots lose their taste when you bake and add too much water,” the source added. “I feel like it’s overcooked.”
Before the cuts, Cracker Barrel’s kitchen employees was making biscuits contemporary on as-need foundation, however might nonetheless crank out dozens in 9 minutes, based on one worker.
“They’re made almost to order,” the staffer instructed The Post. “Really, we go through them so fast.”
This TikTok video purports to show trays of pre-packaged meat loaf which is reheated in a microwave. x/WallStreetApes
Nevertheless, management received involved that too many biscuits — generally as many as 4 trays totaling practically 100 — had been being thrown out on the finish of the day, the cook added.
“This will be a mistake. People can heat up frozen biscuits themselves at home,” based on a Reddit post earlier this yr in a thread entitled “No more fresh biscuits?”
Likewise, a meatloaf that’s been cooked and saved heat can’t be served the following day, so the kitchen regularly tossed one or two a day, the cook defined.
The chain’s prospects have observed the drop-off in high quality.
Julie Felss Masino was employed in 2023 to spearhead a turnaround on the 55 year-old chain. FOX News
“The last two times I’ve eaten there the biscuits have been absolutely disgusting,” one other diner lately posted on Reddit. “The other food was not the usual quality either.”
Cracker Barrel didn’t reply for remark.
Felss Masino landed on the new seat final month after the 55-year-old company scrapped its folksy brand that includes mascot “Uncle Herschel” and changed it with a more smooth, minimalist design that outraged prospects.
Felss Masino has come beneath intense strain over modifications she’s carried out at Cracker Barrel. BACKGRID
The company was accused of being “woke” and finally introduced that it will carry back the “Old Timer” image — shortly after President Trump weighed in on the matter.
On Aug. 19, a day after the emblem was revealed, gross sales slowed throughout the chain and fell off a cliff a week later because the controversy grew, based on a data-crunching firm. That’s after a yr of regular same-store gross sales growth on Felss Masino’s watch via the May quarter.
Staffers are additionally upset because the chain has slashed hours and imposed a new level system for servers based mostly on their capacity to upsell objects like soda, alcohol, appetizers and desserts.
A server at a Texas restaurant mentioned she earned $40 during a latest shift, in comparison with her ordinary haul of about $150. Scoring low on pushing up the tab has additionally resulted in getting fewer tables for her to cowl, she added.
“If I can’t sell those items, I’ll get two tables instead of four,” the server mentioned.
