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| -Great Cultural Revolution |
| Cracker Barrel Is Another Regional Hallmark That's Fallen Victim To Monocultural Carpetbaggers |
| 2025-08-08 |
| [Federalist] While driving through northern Arkansas on the way to a wedding in rural Missouri earlier this year, I decided to treat an old college friend from Bangladesh to a meal at that bastion of Americana: Cracker Barrel. I hadn’t been to a Cracker Barrel in years, but it was just as I remembered it — the cluttered general store area full of knick-knacks, the kitschy memorabilia cluttered on the wall, the intentionally dated homestyle atmosphere, and the relatively quick service. It was, in a word, quaint. Exactly as advertised. My friend was not particularly impressed. When he expressed that he didn’t get why Cracker Barrel is so great, I responded, in jest, "That’s why you’ll never be an American." The executives who run Cracker Barrel obviously share the same opinion as my Bangladeshi friend, since they’re replacing the old-timey charm that makes Cracker Barrel a special place with the same soulless, whitewashed aesthetic that can only be dreamed up and approved in an equally soulless corporate boardroom or at a high-rise consultancy firm. The typical Cracker Barrel’s aesthetic is very obviously an idealized version of yesteryear’s America, but in a natural, sincere way. It effortlessly harkens back to a simpler time — a time your grandparents knew and lived in — when mom-and-pop general stores and diners hadn’t yet given way to the march of progress. And that’s the entire appeal of the restaurant: For an hour or so, you can go back and indulge in a bit of harmless nostalgia. By contrast, this new aesthetic tries to pay lip service to that same sense of wizened charm but ultimately comes off as spiritually sterile, manufactured, and hollow. Every decorative item on the wall in the video above looks like it could have come from Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Hearth and Hand line at Target — trying way too hard and not enough at the same time. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #7 ^^^ Now THAT is some Southern hospitality! |
| Posted by: DooDahMan 2025-08-08 14:51 |
| #6 BTW: For TRUE Southern Food Visit Taylor's in Waynesboro, GA. 1/2"+ thick Fried Pork Chops, fried Cat-Fish, Fried Chicken, black-eye peas, Lima's, Real Mac & Cheese, and all the usual Southern Fixin's. A plate loaded up & Ice Tea $14.95 to $16.95 |
| Posted by: NN2N1 2025-08-08 14:20 |
| #5 And I want a point of order, especially for our visitor looking for The American Experience. Cracker Barrel, Applebee's, Carlos O'Kelly's, all of them, they are not "American Food" or experience - they are corporate food and atmosphere. Even those high end burger chains. No, go to Earl's BBQ a couple blocks off the Interstate, or Jan's Crab Shop, Tito's Taco Stand, anything other than what is front street to an Interstate. I have within a 20 minute drive, 6 different restaurants, and this is rural Kansas, superior in taste, quality, price, and atmosphere to peak Cracker Barrel, which was some 30 years ago. Don't take them to Sonic But With Tables. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2025-08-08 11:48 |
| #4 It seems as though declines in guest traffic in recent years helped convince the corporate suits that the restaurants needed a more “modern” look to bring in new customers. Gosh. Going hard DEI and Gay Pride Month didn't pay off? Food and Service went to shit? Better let those same brains do their take on the ambiance then. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2025-08-08 11:22 |
| #3 Waffle House beats them every time! |
| Posted by: Beavis 2025-08-08 10:25 |
| #2 Look, I understand any business place needs to adjust to the majority of PAYING customers. But my gripe with Cracker Barrel is not looks, it's the signature food item's. The taste, ingredients and type/quality of meats are no longer the same. Plus, waitstaff service was 3/10 the last few visits. Now they are on our, only if extended family wants to go there, list. |
| Posted by: NN2N1 2025-08-08 05:56 |
| #1 So why make these changes? It seems as though declines in guest traffic in recent years helped convince the corporate suits that the restaurants needed a more “modern” look to bring in new customers. It's not what's on the walls, but rather what's on the plate. The restrooms could certainly use some attention as well. BTW, the experiment with alcoholic drinks appears to be a failure. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2025-08-08 02:05 |