Cracker Barrel to Close 14 Maple Street Biscuit Co. Locations After Rebrand Backlash
Company says closures follow a costly rebrand and lagging sales at Maple Street Biscuit Company, as profits are expected to decline next year.
Cracker Barrel on Thursday said it will shutter 14 Maple Street Biscuit Company restaurants, trimming the brand from 68 units to 54 locations that remain open. Maple Street, a breakfast concept Cracker Barrel bought in 2019 for $36 million, expanded from 28 locations to a peak of 68 earlier this year.
Maple Street has proven a costly bet for Cracker Barrel. Filings show the unit's value declined by about $16.2 million over the past year as sales lagged expectations. The closures come as Cracker Barrel reported a broader sales slump at the company’s 660-restaurant core, with a $30 million drop in sales from June to August versus a year earlier — about 2.3 million plates of country fried steak — and management projecting next year’s sales will fall another four to six percent. The company also warned that profits will decline next year as it rationalizes its portfolio and pares back expectations for new growth.
Cracker Barrel’s branding episode has dominated headlines this summer. On Aug. 19, the company unveiled a new logo for the first time in 48 years, replacing the old cross-legged rocking-chair figure with a simple yellow backdrop. The redesign extended to interiors, where farmhouse-style lattice wood gave way to brighter white walls and more contemporary lighting. Critics accused the changes of eroding the brand’s character and vowed to boycott the chain, a response that coincided with the sales slump that followed.
The backlash prompted Cracker Barrel to reverse both the logo and the redesigns, effectively undoing elements of the rebrand. Analysts noted that the attention could boost brand visibility even if it doesn’t translate into short-term sales gains. Neil Saunders, a retail analyst at GlobalData, told The Daily Mail that the publicity is helpful for visibility but unlikely to move the needle on sales. A separate YouGov poll cited by the outlet found that 65 percent of Americans were aware of the logo change, but only 29 percent said the changes made them less likely to dine there.
In a statement, a Cracker Barrel spokesperson thanked Maple Street guests and team members for their dedication: “We appreciate the continued patronage of the many guests who have dined with Maple Street at these 14 locations over recent years and thank our team members for their passionate dedication to Maple Street and focus on delivering delivered fantastic guest experiences day in and day out. We hope our loyal guests will continue to dine with us at our many other Maple Street locations.”
The closures underscore the challenges Cracker Barrel faces as it seeks growth beyond its legacy business. Maple Street Biscuit Company, known for premium ingredients in breakfast offerings such as chicken and biscuits and items priced around $12 to $13, had been positioned as a potential engine for expansion, but losses and lagging sales suggest the bet did not pay off as hoped. Cracker Barrel’s executives will now focus on stabilizing the core brand while reassessing the role of Maple Street within the portfolio.
Wall Street traders also grappled with the earnings guidance and branding missteps. While Cracker Barrel beat earnings expectations in some metrics, the combination of a $700 million rebrand and a slower-than-expected recovery for Maple Street cooled investor enthusiasm. The company’s management emphasized a commitment to improving guest experience across its footprint and to a disciplined approach to brand evolution, even as it trims back on ancillary concepts that did not meet performance targets.
Looking ahead, Cracker Barrel’s leadership faces a delicate balance: protect the profitability of its established restaurants, correct missteps from recent branding experiments, and determine whether Maple Street remains a viable standalone concept or should be scaled back further. The latest round of closures and the earnings outlook signal that the path to sustained growth remains uncertain, even as the broader market for breakfast-driven dining remains competitive.