As the dust settles on a botched logo redesign that turned it into a political and cultural flashpoint this summer, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store is no doubt looking to put 2025 behind it.
In the meantime, the restaurant company has also trimmed its physical footprint as it looks to 2026.
Reporting its fourth-quarter financial results earlier this month, Cracker Barrel revealed the planned closure of 14 Maple Street Biscuit Company locations. That amounts to roughly 21% of its company-owned stores for the fast-casual brand, which Cracker Barrel acquired in 2019 for $36 million.
The company is projecting revenue for fiscal 2026 of $3.35 billion to $3.45 billion, and a comparable store traffic decline of 4% to 7%, in part due to the closures. Cracker Barrel also plans to open two new locations for its flagship Cracker Barrel brand during the period.
Julie Masino, the restaurant chain’s CEO, addressed the logo controversy in an earnings call on September 17, saying it underscored deeply held feelings and a love for the brand among fans. The company reverted back to its old branding and halted a planned remodeling of some of its restaurants in the wake of intense backlash that followed the logo change.
Maple Street Biscuit Company, founded in Jacksonville, Florida, in 2012, largely escaped getting swept up in the negative publicity. The brand has locations mostly centered around the Southeast, Midwest, and Texas.
Which Maple Street locations are closing?
Cracker Barrel did not provide a list of impacted locations. Although it disclosed the closures as part of its outlook for fiscal 2026, a spokesperson confirmed with Fast Company that the locations it cited have in fact already closed.
Based on a Fast Company review of Maple Street’s store locator tool and review websites such as Yelp, the 14 recent store closures span six states, with the most located in Texas. The full list, which Cracker Barrel confirmed, appears below:
Florida
- 2233 Gulf to Bay Blvd Clearwater, FL 33765
- 7756 113th St N Ste E Seminole, FL 33772
Kentucky
- 2270 Nicholasville Rd Ste 120 Lexington-Fayette, KY 40503
Ohio
- 9711 Sawmill Pkwy Ste A Powell, OH 43065
South Carolina
- 965 Wood Duck Dr Ste 108 Myrtle Beach, SC 29577
- 1739 Maybank Hwy Ste U Charleston, SC 29412
Tennessee
- 10837 Hardin Valley Rd Knoxville, TN 37932
Texas
- 967 Keller Pkwy Keller, TX 76248
- 4836 Waterview Town Center Dr Ste 300 Richmond, TX 77407
- 14999 Preston Rd Ste 226 Dallas, TX 75254
- 3288 Main St Ste 111 Frisco, TX 75034
- 3040 E FM 544 Ste 400 Wylie, TX 75098
- 8801 Eldorado Pkwy McKinney, TX 75070
- 4020 W University Dr, McKinney, TX 75071
A Cracker Barrel spokesperson pointed out that Maple Street Biscuit Company still has more than 50 locations.
“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,” the spokesperson said. “We hope our loyal guests will continue to dine with us at our many other Maple Street locations.”
Shares of Cracker Barrel (NASDAQ: CBRL) are down roughly 5% since its earnings report. The stock has fallen around 30% since late August.
No comments