Cracker Barrel has introduced a new directive requiring employees to exclusively dine at its own restaurants during business trips and stop submitting alcohol expenses.
This policy shift comes as the chain attempts to reduce costs after a failed attempt to rebrand with a ‘woke’ image, amidst declining customer visits.
The internal communication, accessed by the Wall Street Journal, mandates that staff should dine at a Cracker Barrel location for most meals while traveling, whenever feasible given their location and schedule.
This new rule removes the option for employees to choose where they eat during business trips, taking away one of the few remaining benefits of corporate travel.
Additionally, the policy prohibits the reimbursement of alcoholic drinks, requiring such expenses to be covered by employees themselves unless specifically authorized by senior executives.
The guidelines state that any exceptions for special occasions must receive prior approval from an E-Team member.
The strict regulations come amid layoffs, shrinking sales, and a bruising backlash over the company’s rebranding efforts, which wiped an estimated $94 million off Cracker Barrel’s market value and forced executives to publicly reverse course.
Cracker Barrel, formally known as Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, has long marketed itself as a refuge from corporate modernity with rocking chairs on the porch, peg games on the tables, and walls lined with nostalgic Americana.
Cracker Barrel now expects traveling employees to eat almost exclusively at its own restaurants
The new rules comes amid falling sales and internal layoffs at the chain
But now employees say even their expense accounts are being ‘modernized.’
Inside the company, the new rules have been interpreted as part of a broader push to scrimp every possible dollar after years of declining foot traffic and slowing revenue growth.
Instead of enjoying the freedom to choose a restaurant while out on the road, workers are being told to stick to meatloaf, country fried steak, and biscuits – even when visiting cities packed with dining options.
Across corporate America, companies are tightening travel policies as budgets shrink.
Employees are increasingly being told to hunt for cheap hotels, cook supermarket meals in their rooms, and avoid premium services altogether.
Justin Salerno, a Milwaukee-area engineer, said his new employer now forces him to stick to federal reimbursement rates.
‘I’m a bit loosey goosey about it,’ Salerno said to the Journal, explaining that comfort sometimes means going over the limit and justifying it later.
Finance executive Jeff Oscarson said he’s seen the worst of expense-account creativity with some workers attempting to claim for $500 bottles of wine, pairs of jeans and even a chair.
Cracker Barrel lost an estimated $94 million in market value in a single day after its rebrand last year
Hamburger Steak (pictured) has been on Cracker Barrel’s menu since the chain opened in 1969
Some customers now bring their own maple syrup in protest over menu changes
Cracker Barrel has over 650 locations across the US with antiques and Americana pulled from its warehouse in Lebanon, Tennessee
‘Why would you do something to poke the bear by expensing a chair?’ Oscarson said, recalling an employee who once tried to do exactly that.
Last August, the company unveiled a new logo and removed its iconic mascot, Uncle Herschel – the man leaning on a barrel – as part of a minimalist redesign.
The reaction was immediate with MAGA influencers labeled the change ‘woke,’ and even Donald Trump publicly urged the chain to return to its classic look.
CEO Julie Felss Masino said the backlash over the rebrand made her feel ‘fired by America’
Within a single day, Cracker Barrel reportedly lost around $94 million in market value. The company later admitted defeat.
‘If the last few days have shown us anything, it’s how deeply people care about Cracker Barrel,’ the company said in a statement. ‘You’ve also shown us that we could’ve done a better job sharing who we are and who we’ll always be.’
The statement promised customers that the heart of Cracker Barrel wasn’t going anywhere from the rocking chairs to the antiques pulled from its warehouse in Lebanon, Tennessee.
The branding fiasco was soon followed by menu changes that only made things worse.
Regular customers complained that Cracker Barrel had switched to batch-made cookies instead of freshly rolled dough, and that sides like green beans were now being prepared in ovens instead of on stovetops.
Critics labeled the rebrand ‘woke,’ accusing the chain of abandoning its roots. The company quickly reversed course
The travel policy is being seen as a sign Cracker Barrel is still cutting back to survive
Some longtime diners even began bringing their own maple syrup to restaurants in protest.
Online forums filled with posts accusing the chain of abandoning its roots in pursuit of corporate efficiency.
Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Felss Masino later admitted the backlash was personally devastating.
She said the reaction made her feel ‘fired by America.’
The company ultimately scrapped major elements of the rebrand and halted plans to modernize its more than 650 locations, which critics said stripped away the chain’s nostalgic identity.
