Workers Reveal What It's Really Like To Work At Cracker Barrel

Since 1969, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store has been serving as a "home-away-from-home" for travelers and locals alike. With 659 stores in 45 states (as of April 2019), you can find their signature Southern country cooking and just about anything else your heart desires all across the United States. The restaurant and country store espouses a mission of "Pleasing People," and that means everything from making sure their country biscuits are warm and buttery to ensuring their merchandise and ingredients are the best of the best. 

But the biscuits aren't the best thing about Cracker Barrel, at least according to the restaurant itself. Their greatest assets, they say, are their employees, who "bring [the] mission to life." After the internet collectively lost its mind when "Brad's wife" was fired from Cracker Barrel, many people wondered just what it's really like to work at the chain. These self-professed former and current employees spilled the (sweet) tea about working at Cracker Barrel.

If you've ever been inside one of the 600+ Cracker Barrel restaurants in the U.S., you might have wondered about the stars the employees sport on their aprons. Some have just one, while others have several. It turns out, they aren't just for decoration. 

According to one Redditor, who claims to be an Employee Training Coordinator at Cracker Barrel, the stars represent how long an employee has been with the company, as well as their skills and progress. If you're wondering how that's all determined, it comes down to a lot of hard work. According to the ETC, employees are "Rising Stars" for the first 30 days of employment. In order to earn their first star, Rising Stars must take tests about their position and have their performance evaluated by managers. If they pass, they get their first star. The max number of stars is four, and "each star comes with new responsibilities, opportunities, and benefits."

It's a bit unusual for a restaurant to also house a retail store the way Cracker Barrel does, which makes working there unique in many ways. Like many retail establishments, Cracker Barrel deals with its share of theft. So what's a Cracker Barrel employee to do if they suspect someone is stealing from the retail store? It turns out, not much of anything. 

According to this Redditor, Cracker Barrel employees "aren't allowed to do anything if [they] suspect someone is bouncing the check or stealing from retail." The alleged Cracker Barrel host then clarified, "We can call the police, but we can't approach the suspected thief and say, 'Sir, are you stealing?' That creates tension in the store and doesn't appear hospitable."

While this may seem like extreme hospitality, University of Florida professor Richard Hollinger, who specializes in loss prevention, revealed to LPM Insider, "Cameras, electronic article surveillance, and security are the antithesis of the Cracker Barrel atmosphere. They treat their customers like neighbors. Neighbors watch out for each other and trust each other."

There's no denying that cleanliness is incredibly important in the restaurant industry. In many restaurants, employees all take part in keeping the place clean, so it isn't unusual to hear about a server sweeping or vacuuming at the end of their shift, or for the line cooks to clean the fryers and grills while the dishwashers get all of the dishes and silverware ready for the next day. What you may not expect, however, is that at Cracker Barrel, there's also a night cleaning crew that comes in every single night to do deep-cleaning. 

According to one employee, this crew even cleans the decor on the walls. According to Q&As on job site Indeed, the night cleaning shift starts between 9:30-11:00 p.m., depending what time each particular restaurant closes, and includes the coolers, freezers, retail store, and dining rooms. That doesn't mean other restaurant employees aren't doing their part. Servers and other employees that do cleaning as part of their shifts begin cleaning two hours prior to closing, in addition to standard cleaning that happens all shift long.

As much as customers apparently like to stroll into a Cracker Barrel, sit in the rocking chairs, and play a friendly tabletop game before eating, in-restaurant dining isn't the only way to get your favorite Cracker Barrel meals. Whether you want an order just for yourself, catering for an event, or a family-sized special event meal, Cracker Barrel To-Go is your best friend. In fact, if you thought the only people who utilize Cracker Barrel during the holidays are the people who don't want to host, think again.

Cracker Barrel offers Heat n' Serve Family Meals for Thanksgiving, Easter, and Christmas Dinner that serve a whole crowd. But how much business can to-go orders really provide? According to this Redditor and alleged Cracker Barrel to-go server, "We can push more than [$10,000] in [to-go] sales a week," and that's just at one store. 

Holiday gatherings are a great opportunity to see family, exchange recipes, and relax. If you work at Cracker Barrel, though, don't count on any sort of relaxation over holidays. Every Cracker Barrel location is open on Thanksgiving with breakfast served all day and a traditional Thanksgiving spread offered beginning at 11 a.m. 

According to one Redditor (and alleged Cracker Barrel host), Thanksgiving is the busiest day of the year. Another alleged Cracker Barrel employee chimed in on the thread, agreeing that Thanksgiving is the busiest day, but noted that there are more experienced employees working during those holiday shifts (those with the coveted four stars on their aprons), making it a bit more manageable than some other busy days. 

As for the Cracker Barrel store? Another Redditor, who claims to be a four-star retail employee, revealed, "Actually the busiest day is Mother's Day! ... There's signs all over the stock room about preparing for Mother's Day since it's the craziest."