Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc.
Type	Public (NASDAQ: CBRL)
Founded	1969 in Lebanon, Tennessee
Headquarters	Lebanon, Tennessee
Key people	Dan Evins, Chairman Emeritus/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
Slogan	Homestyle cooking done right. It's a restaurant. It's a 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 Tennessee. Kraft Foods Inc. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... NASDAQ in Times Square, New York City. ... Also: 1969 (Stargate SG-1) episode. ... Official language(s) English Capital Nashville Largest city Memphis Largest metro area Nashville Metropolitan Area Area  Ranked 36th  - Total 42,169 sq mi (109,247 km²)  - Width 120 miles (195 km)  - Length 440 miles (710 km)  - % water 2. ... Official language(s) English Capital Nashville Largest city Memphis Largest metro area Nashville Metropolitan Area Area  Ranked 36th  - Total 42,169 sq mi (109,247 km²)  - Width 120 miles (195 km)  - Length 440 miles (710 km)  - % water 2. ... A typical restaurant in uptown Manhattan A restaurant is an establishment that serves prepared food and beverages to be consumed on the premises. ... Drawing of a self-service store. ... Look up revenue in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about work. ... Look up slogan in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A website (alternatively, Web site or web site) is a collection of Web pages, images, videos or other digital assets that is hosted on one or several Web server(s), usually accessible via the Internet, cell phone or a LAN. A Web page is a document, typically written in HTML... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... A 99 cent store A variety store or price-point retailer is a retail store that sells inexpensive items, usually with a single price point for all items in the store. ... For other uses, see Restaurant (disambiguation). ... Official language(s) English Capital Nashville Largest city Memphis Largest metro area Nashville Metropolitan Area Area  Ranked 36th  - Total 42,169 sq mi (109,247 km²)  - Width 120 miles (195 km)  - Length 440 miles (710 km)  - % water 2. ...

A Cracker Barrel location in Hagerstown, Maryland

Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (960 × 720 pixel, file size: 429 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) A Cracker Barrel location in Hagerstown, Maryland. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (960 × 720 pixel, file size: 429 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) A Cracker Barrel location in Hagerstown, Maryland. ... Nickname: Motto: A Great Place to Live Work and Visit Location in Maryland Coordinates: , County Washington Incorporated 1813 Government  - Mayor Robert Bob E. Bruchey II Area  - City 27. ...

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 term comfort food refers to a style of familiar, simple food or drink that is usually home-cooked, or consumed in informal restaurants. ... Low-carbohydrate diets or low carb diets, are food diet programs for weight loss and dietary health that advocate restricted carbohydrate consumption, based on research that ties carbohydrate consumption with increased blood insulin levels, and increased insulin with obesity. ...

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, housewares, crafts, toys, classic candies, and items used in making Cracker Barrel entrees.

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." During the 1990s Cracker Barrel reportedly fired at least 11 gay workers. 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. Thus, the name derived from a bunch of old Southern white folks (crackers) sitting or gathering around the 'cracker barrel' in the small town General Store. This barrel could have contained pickles, but it still attracted the Crackers to sit and converse, play checkers, or hassle others that frequented the town. As Chris Rock would say; 'cracker-ass crackers'. Year 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the 1991 Gregorian calendar). ... Heterosexuality is a sexual orientation characterized by esthetic attraction, romantic love or sexual desire exclusively for members of the opposite sex or gender, contrasted with homosexuality and distinguished from bisexuality and asexuality. ... a family of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso in 1997 Family is a Western term used to denote a domestic group of people, or a number of domestic groups linked through descent (demonstrated or stipulated) from a common ancestor, marriage or adoption. ... For other uses, see Society (disambiguation). ... The gay rights movement is a collection of loosely aligned civil rights groups, human rights groups, support groups and political activists seeking acceptance, tolerance and equality for non-heterosexual, (homosexual, bisexual), and transgender people - despite the fact that it is typically referred to as the gay rights movement, members also... Also see: 2002 (number). ... A shareholder or stockholder is an individual or company (including a corporation), that legally owns one or more shares of stock in a joint stock company. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... A pension (also known as superannuation) is a retirement plan intended to provide a person with a secure income for life. ...

In the early 2000s and again in 2006, Cracker Barrel has 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. In March 2006, Cracker Barrel agreed to pay $2 million to settle class allegations of sexual and racial discrimination brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC v. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc.). In October of 2006, Rose Rock, the mother of popular comedian Chris Rock, threatened legal action after she claimed that she and her daughter were discriminated against at the company's Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, restaurant^[2] due to not being served for over an hour. She said when she asked the manager about the delay, the manager did not try to find the cause of the delay, but told the Rocks that they could have a free meal, which she refused.^[3] This article is about the first decade of the 21st century. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Race (disambiguation). ... This article is about the type of currency. ... Look up million in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Sexual harassment is harassment or unwelcome attention of a sexual nature. ... Official language(s) English[1] Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Largest metro area Chicago Metropolitan Area Area  Ranked 25th  - Total 57,918 sq mi (140,998 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 390 miles (629 km)  - % water 4. ... Dennys is the largest full-service family restaurant chain in the United States. ... The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or EEOC, is a United States federal agency tasked with ending employment discrimination in the United States. ... Christopher Julius Rock III[5] (born February 7, 1965)[6][7] is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, television producer, film producer and director. ... Murrells Inlet is a census-designated place (CDP) in Georgetown County, South Carolina, United States. ...

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.^[4][5] Less than five months later, however, all charges against Cracker Barrel were dropped. In dismissing the charges on February 2, 2005, the District Attorney stated that "there was no intent on the part of (Cracker Barrel) to violate any laws," and stated that the company "has demonstrated to the District Attorney that it has a history of good citizenship and high ethical standards." For its part, Cracker Barrel admitted no wrongdoing, and agreed to make a charitable contribution of $50,000 to support a "nonpartisan, balanced and publicly informative program" at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas-Austin, with the intent of reinforcing what it called its "longstanding commitment to good corporate citizenship and proper participation in the political process". This article contains information that has not been verified. ... In the United States, a political action committee, or PAC, is the name commonly given to a private group organized to elect or defeat government officials in order to promote legislation, often supporting the groups special interests. ... Thomas Dale DeLay (born April 8, 1947) is a former member of the United States House of Representatives from Sugar Land, Texas. ...

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.^[6] Myrtle Beach is a city and in Horry County, South Carolina, United States. ...

References

1. ^ USA Today, 2004-05-07.
2. ^ Breitbart.
3. ^ CNN.
4. ^ CBS News, 2004-06-15.
5. ^ NPR.
6. ^ Fox News.

External links

• Cracker Barrel Old Country Store
• Cracker Barrel’s Non-Discrimination Policy Statement
• How Cracker Barrel Old Country Store® Got Its Name
• CD Review Cracker Barrel Songs Of The Year
• CBRL Group website, corporate parent
• News items about CBRL Group from NashvillePost.com