Why Everyone Is Talking About Cracker Barrel's New Menu Addition
Is Cracker Barrel a must-stop on every single road trip you take? If so, great news –- as long as you're not the designated driver that is. Cracker Barrel, which, like just about every other restaurant out there, has seen a drastic drop in business after having had to spend several months operating on a takeout and delivery-only basis, has hit upon a genius way to bring back its customers — just add booze!
Yes, booze makes everything better, or at least it makes business better. And, as the old cliché would have it, "What's good for business is good for America," so there you go. It's practically your patriotic duty to patronize that bastion of retro Americana (ye ole timey Cracker Barrel), plop your keister down in one of their iconic rocking chairs, and slam down a few brewskis.
Not just beer, either — Restaurant Business reports that Cracker Barrel will be adding wine as well as beer to its menu, since nothing goes better with meatloaf than a nice glass of merlot.
How Cracker Barrel will roll out the beer (and wine) barrel
Cracker Barrel's new booze menu will feature what Restaurant Business describes as a selection of popular beers and wines, as well as a hard cider and even two cocktails — strawberry and orange mimosas. Cracker Barrel CEO Sandy Cochran says of the mimosas, "It was surprising to me how popular they are." Who knows, their addition might even transform Cracker Barrel into the latest trendy brunch spot!
But now for some bad news — Cracker Barrels with liquor licenses are only a thing in Florida at present, and just 20 of the 49 Florida Cracker Barrel locations are piloting the new drinks menu. Plus, the menus at all re-opened Cracker Barrels, in Florida and everywhere else, may be missing a few items, since the restaurant chain is taking a page out of McDonald's book and going to a smaller, stripped-down menu.
The new menu, according to Cochran, is meant to "better highlight [their] signature offerings and abundance," and will certainly make things easier on employees, but, spin it how you will, it still amounts to fewer choices for restaurant patrons. Still, as long as they consider expanding the booze sales to Cracker Barrels nationwide, it's likely we won't really care — at least not after a few drinks.