Cracker Barrel Has Been Rocked With Scandals. Here Are The Worst
Cracker Barrel has been a beloved dining spot for Americans since the 1960s. You probably have fond memories of sitting in the rocking chairs on the front porch, finding oddities in the gift shop, or trying chicken fried chicken for the first time. At its core, the restaurant embodies a sense of warm Southern hospitality that has resonated deeply with diners. Yet the nostalgic restaurant chain has faced a series of scandals over the years. These offenses have raised eyebrows and sparked conversations about the store's corporate practices and policies. Its location-by-location company culture has also been under scrutiny.
However, even amid scandal after scandal, a few stand out as truly shocking. There have been allegations of discrimination against employees and customers, accusations of sexual harassment, and even an allegedly accidental poisoning with industrial chemicals. Cracker Barrel has been in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons, threatening its longstanding reputation. Here are the worst scandals Cracker Barrel has ever faced.
One store location was impacted by salmonella ... again and again and again
The Cracker Barrel in Kalamazoo, Michigan, had to close down permanently because it kept spreading Salmonella to customers, which is quite a scandal. Salmonella is a type of bacteria that people typically get from food that is not prepared properly, like cutting raw chicken and vegetables on the same board. While you can't smell or taste it while eating contaminated food, this bacteria can make you sick, leading to vomiting, diarrhea, excessive sweating, and fever.
In June 2018, both the Kalamazoo County Health & Community Services Department and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services opened a case against the location. Both departments had reports of health code violations, in addition to accusations of people getting sick from eating there. The restaurant closed during the investigation, only to reopen shortly after as things seemed fixed. In November of that year, the restaurant had to close again, and this time forever, as it was found that the kitchen still had "significant salmonella contamination," per Fox 17. This is one of the worst scandals as the restaurant simply couldn't kick the infestation.
The company was once called out for hanging a noose in its restaurant
The decorations in Cracker Barrel are one of the things that makes the restaurant unique. Each store has an interesting combination of local lore and old-fashioned items. Mixed with the Southern comfort food, the ambiance makes it feel like you are eating somewhere between your grandma's house and an actual '60s rest stop. However, the company was once called out for hanging a noose as decoration in one of its locations, which is one of the worst faux paus possible.
The story first broke when diner Alfonso Robinson posted about his experience at a Connecticut Cracker Barrel. "Someone at Cracker Barrel in East Windsor needs to explain why there are nooses on the ceiling ... #notagoodlook," he wrote. The company was quick to backpedal, releasing a statement saying "Some of the historic décor in our stores may be reminiscent of earlier times, but our inclusive culture is firmly grounded in today."
The statement went on to assert, as did a previous post by the company, that "the décor item in our East Windsor store -– an antique soldering iron with an original wrapped cord -– should have been noticed and corrected before ever being displayed." However, critics were not convinced of the story's authenticity. "Your apology is what's wrong with America," one user posted in response.
A customer was served a deadly chemical instead of water
Imagine reaching for your glass of water while eating at a restaurant and instead of having a refreshing drink you take a big gulp of industrial cleaner. This scandal happened in 2014 when Tennessee man William Cronnon ate lunch at Cracker Barrel in Marion County. In court, the chemical was found to be Eco-San, which the company used to clean the kitchen. Cronnon incurred medical expenses and the need for ongoing care because of the incident. Serving customers chemicals is one of the worst things you can do.
When it was time to decide the verdict, the jury didn't take long. "The jury returned a verdict for compensatory damages of $4.3 million in just 30 minutes," attorney Thomas Greer told CNN. "[This is] one of the fastest verdicts we have ever seen. [The jury also] awarded punitive damages of $5 million after only 10 minutes of additional deliberation." The jury's need for little time to think indicates the blame in the case was obvious to those in the courtroom. However, Cracker Barrel didn't agree. "We are obviously disappointed by and strongly disagree with the jury's award in this case, which involved an unfortunate and isolated incident that occurred at one of our stores eight years ago," the company said in a statement to CNN.
The company settled a multimillion-dollar racial discrimination lawsuit
Cracker Barrel agreed to pay almost $9 million to settle a class action lawsuit brought against it by the NAACP. "Cracker Barrel is very pleased with this settlement," the company's CEO told Fox News in 2015. This specific case surrounded the treatment of Cracker Barrel patrons, not workers. It said that black customers often found themselves seated away from white customers, segregating them. It also indicated that black guests waited longer to be seated, waited longer for their food, and were not treated with respect by the waitstaff. If they complained, the situation became worse.
There were at least 42 plaintiffs involved in the case who only sued after management ignored or was complacent in the poor treatment in multiple restaurants across the United States. This scandal makes the list of worst instances as it is unheard of to be "pleased" with being found guilty of racial discrimination to the tune of a few million dollars.
Employees used racist codewords to describe customers
One TikTok user that used to work as a hostess at Cracker Barrel posted a video saying her coworkers used coded racist language to talk about black guests. "Me, a hostess at Cracker Barrel, wondering how every employee knew a table was full of Canadians even though they didn't have a telling accent," the caption on her TikTok read. "A waitress used to complain SO MUCH if I sat "Canadians" in her section & I was so confused bc I thought Canadians were stereotyped as nice," she continued.
@cinnamnhoney a waitress used to complain SO MUCH if i sat “canadians†in her section & i was so confused bc i thought canadians were stereotyped as nice
As horrifying as this might be, others in the comments of her video only seemed to support her claims. "What's sad is I've also heard this used before," said one commenter. "The service industry is incredibly racist — I've been in 5 diff restaurants and saw the same thing at all," said another. "Obviously, racism has no place at Cracker Barrel, and any actions like the ones described in the video would be against our policies, beliefs, and who we are as a company," a Cracker Barrel spokesperson told Newsweek in a statement. Unfortunately, the damage had already been done.
Sexual harassment issues plagued several locations
Cracker Barrel seems not to be a stranger to class action lawsuits, as the comfort cooking chain was slapped with a $2 million fine over racial and sexual harassment issues at three Illinois restaurants. The payout was split between more than 50 employees from the locations who reported the abuse. "This case was exhaustively and expensively litigated. Dozens and dozens of depositions were taken," attorney Pamela Moore-Gibbs told the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. "In the end, the accumulated testimony of the employees was to the effect that Cracker Barrel employees at the three restaurants were subjected to unwelcome and offensive sexual comments and touching from male co-workers and managers and that complaints about it to management were not taken seriously."
Because the managers were either part of, or complacent in, the abuse, the restaurants were found by the court to be violating federal employment law. In addition to the fine, all remaining staff at each location in question underwent extensive sexual harassment prevention training. Everyone deserves to be safe at work, making this scandal one of the worst.
A customer once received a plate of food covered in blood
Health and safety are of the utmost importance in a restaurant. Keeping a clean, accident-free workplace protects both workers and diners alike. So you can imagine Susan Mosher's surprise when she was eating at a Kingwood, Texas, Cracker Barrel and found her plate covered in bloody fingerprints. "I ate about half of my sandwich and a couple of the fries, and I looked down, and there is blood," Mosher told ABC13. "Actually, it looked like fingerprints from someone's hand. Like they took the fries, and you could see the prints on the fries, blood."
The cook preparing Mosher's meal hurt himself and was unable to step away to receive care, it seems. While Cracker Barrel sent Mosher two $50 gift cards as an apology and agreed to reimburse her if she wanted a blood test, that was the extent of the resolution. The Harris County Health Department told ABC13 the restaurant received a warning, but no further action was taken. This scandal is one of the worst as a slap on the wrist to the kitchen and a gift card to the same place that seasoned your fries with bodily fluid is not much of an apology.
The chain was slapped with a huge ADA violation lawsuit
In 2014, Cracker Barrel customer Sarah Heinzl alleged that the slope of the ramps leading to her local store was too steep to be used by people with disabilities. Heinzl's singular complaint eventually blossomed into a class action lawsuit. During the discovery process, attorneys discovered that at least 107 Cracker Barrel restaurants had non-compliant entrance ramps. This means that the public restaurant was inaccessible to a portion of the population. This is a clear violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, according to the settlement documents.
The 107 locations named in the lawsuit had 30 months from closing to ensure that the facilities were completely compliant with the ADA and usable by people with disabilities. In addition, Heinzl was awarded $7,500 by the court. Cracker Barrel received an $830,000 bill to cover the court's costs. It is scandalous that the restaurant would waste so much money on building ramps, for it not to ensure they were usable.
Cracker Barrel once fired a 73-year-old employee for giving away a muffin
This scandal makes the list of the worst of the worst simply because of how ridiculous it is. There isn't a secret catch to the incident. The employee didn't have a history of bad behavior, nor was this the final straw. A 73-year-old employee in good standing was fired for giving away a muffin. Military veteran Joe Klobenzer was a host at the Venice, Florida, Cracker Barrel location for three years before he lost his job. A man walked in who looked rough and asked for a few condiments, which Klobenzer was happy to give him. Klobenzer also put a muffin into the bag for the man.
The company made a statement attacking his character, "Mr. Koblenzer has worked as a host at Cracker Barrel's Sarasota [County] store since April 2011. During the time he was employed, he violated the Company's policies regarding consuming food without paying or giving away free food, on five separate occasions. Mr. Koblenzer received multiple counselings and written warnings reminding him about the company's policies and the consequences associated with violating them. On the fifth occasion, again per Company policy, Mr. Koblenzer was terminated."
However, Klobenzer indicated that these instances were misconstrued and he was paying for more food than the company thought. That said, not being allowed to give a single muffin to a hungry person without fear of losing your job is a scandal that makes Cracker Barrel look bad.
A black veteran was once kicked out by a manager
In 2015, Randy Freeman ate dinner at the Cracker Barrel in Cross Lanes, West Virginia. He was on a break from his job as a motorcoach driver and was eating in the restaurant along with those he was driving. He ordered a drink, then when the waitress came back to set it on the table, he tried to order dinner. This was a normal turn of events, until a few moments later, the manager came back out with a demand to leave instead of his meal. The manager alleged Freeman had cursed at the waitress and behaved aggressively, so he needed to leave. "I was taken completely by surprise when the manager came out and made these false accusations," Freeman told rolling out.
"I was embarrassed and worried about the consequences of resisting my ejectment because I owed my ultimate responsibility to my motor coach passengers who would've been stranded had I been arrested for refusing to leave," he continued. "So, I left without raising my voice or otherwise resisting the managers' commands."
Freeman, an Air Force veteran, often dined at Cracker Barrel along his routes. However, this was the first time he was ejected, in what he states was a race-based incident. Freeman sued Cracker Barrel over the conflict but lost the case.
Servers rely on tips, but Cracker Barrel withheld them
This ongoing class action scandal is one of the worst Cracker Barrel has encountered. U.S. Department of Labor laws indicate that anyone who works in a position that might be tipped only must be paid $2.13 an hour. Because of this, hospitality workers often rely on tips for the majority of their income. Unfortunately, Cracker Barrel was accused of withholding tips from employees who earned them during the COVID-19 pandemic. The class action lawsuit "Gillespie et al. v. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc." alleges that workers spent the majority of their time working on non-tipped duties, yet were still paid the lower "tipped" wage.
"Cracker Barrel is essentially taking advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to make its servers work more for less money," the suit alleges, per Casetext. This means that workers were doing things like bussing tables, rolling silverware, cleaning food preparation areas, and the like, while only being paid $2.13 an hour, instead of the federal minimum wage. Because they were not interacting with customers, they were missing out on the opportunity to be tipped and make a real income. In addition, the suit alleges that Cracker Barrel mishandled notices from credit card tips.
The company allegedly fired workers based on their age
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 protects Americans over the age of 40 from losing their job or being treated poorly at work simply because of their age. Yet Cracker Barrel has been accused of firing an older worker anyway, sparking a scandal. A 2017 lawsuit alleges that Mississippi woman Belinda Jones worked at Cracker Barrel from 1995 to 2016, yet was fired for the sake of a younger manager. This was after she claims she went above and beyond to make money for the chain and hit all required sales goals.
Jones's husband was undergoing cancer treatment at the time, and she alleges that her age and the cost of her husband's care to the company's insurance led to her firing. Cracker Barrel's lawyers insisted her firing was instead regarding the misuse of her company discount by friends and family. While Jones requested monetary compensation for her dismissal, a Federal judge only granted her a little bit of what she asked for, as the lawsuit was terminated in 2019.
The restaurant chain really did fire Brad's wife
In 2017, Indiana man Bradley Reid Byrd kicked off a social media firestorm when he accused the Cracker Barrell location his wife had worked at for years of letting her go for no reason. "To say I'm pissed off would be an understatement. After 11 years, those lowlifes at Cracker Barrel let my wife go. I would really like to know why and those of you who know me these days, know that I WILL find out," he wrote in a Facebook post, per Heavy.
The inflammatory nature of the post, coupled with the little amount of verifiable information available about the situation had the Internet in stitches. Everyone was incensed that Cracker Barrel could ever do such a thing to Brad's wife, of all people. Her employment situation quickly became an international call to arms, with more than 26,000 people signing a Change.org petition for her, demanding justice. Although the tongue-in-cheek element of the cause is shown through the accompanying hashtags "#trollingforacause and #countryfriedjustice." Unfortunately, although Brad is still posting on social media, there is no word on whether his wife ever received justice.