Cracker Barrel Tells Employees They Must Eat at Cracker Barrel While Traveling on Business
Cracker Barrel workers hitting the road for business just got their dining options severely limited. The Southern-themed restaurant chain told employees they’re expected to eat at Cracker Barrel “for all or the majority of meals while traveling, whenever practical based on location and schedule,” according to an internal message obtained by the Wall Street Journal. The policy also bars workers from expensing alcohol on business trips unless they pay out of pocket or get special approval from senior leadership.
The Chain Is Struggling With Sagging Sales and Layoffs
The mandate comes as Cracker Barrel scrambles to cut costs. The company has seen sagging traffic and slowing revenue growth in recent years, and recently held layoffs. Among employees, the dining policy sparked less concern than worries about their jobs. Inside the company, workers said they didn’t even think they could expense drinks while traveling, since Cracker Barrel added alcohol to its menus only in 2021. Not everyone was surprised by the tightened rules.
Cracker Barrel Isn’t Alone in Slashing Travel Perks
The policy fits into a broader trend of companies zeroing in on employee travel expenses. Employees are now seeking out cheap accommodations, buying groceries instead of dining out, and doing their own laundry to avoid hotel fees. Many companies still want road warriors to travel, but a recent SAP Concur survey found that more employees are covering expenses out of pocket as budgets tighten. Business travel has lost most of its appeal.
One Engineer Faces a $110 Hotel Room Limit After Company Buyout
Justin Salerno, a Milwaukee-area engineer, used to trust his judgment on spending while traveling for an aerospace startup. That changed after his firm was bought. Now he has to match federal reimbursement rates, which cap hotel rooms in parts of Utah he visits at $110 a night, he told the Wall Street Journal. When cities host special events, those same rooms can jump to several hundred dollars. The 45-year-old typically books them anyway, then explains to managers why he went over.
A Finance Chief Once Saw an Employee Try to Expense a Chair
Companies have reasons to crack down. Jeff Oscarson, a finance chief for construction companies, has seen employees try to expense a $500 bottle of wine, pairs of jeans, and a chair, he told the Wall Street Journal. “Why would you do something to poke the bear by expensing a chair?” Oscarson said. But the cost-cutting has real impacts on workers who are now stuck figuring out how to stretch shrinking travel budgets.
Some Workers Skip Two Meals to Save Their Budget for Dinner
Leroy Craighead, a 49-year-old business consultant from Chicago, has his survival system down. He limits himself to Starbucks coffee in the morning and a bare-bones lunch, saving his tight budget for a decent dinner. His frequent-flier hotel status gets him into members-only lounges for free meals. “There’s tricks,” Craighead said. Other corporate travelers say they’re buying groceries and preparing meals in their hotel rooms to stretch their budgets on the road.
The Dining Policy Follows a Disastrous Rebrand Last Year
Cracker Barrel’s cost-cutting comes after a bruising 2025. The company lost an estimated $94 million in market value in a single day after unveiling a new logo and branding strategy in August, according to the Independent. The minimalist redesign removed the chain’s longtime mascot, a man leaning on a barrel known as Uncle Herschel. The backlash was swift enough that CEO Julie Felss Masino told reporters it made her feel “fired by America.”
The Company Quickly Scrapped Plans to Modernize Store Interiors
Around the same time, Cracker Barrel announced it would update the look of its more than 650 locations. Critics argued the changes would erase the nostalgic character that defines the brand. The company reversed course fast. “If the last few days have shown us anything, it’s how deeply people care about Cracker Barrel,” the company said in a statement. The company promised that rocking chairs on porches, warm fires, peg games on tables, and vintage Americana pulled from the Lebanon, Tennessee, warehouse weren’t going anywhere.
Customers Started Bringing Their Own Maple Syrup Over Menu Changes
The troubles didn’t stop with branding. In December, regular customers complained about menu changes. The chain switched to pre-made cookie dough and started cooking green beans in ovens instead of on stovetops. Some diners felt so strongly about the new maple syrup that they started bringing their own bottles to the restaurant. The backlash over food quality came on top of complaints about planned interior modernizations. For a chain built on nostalgia and home-style cooking, the changes struck a nerve.
The Dining Mandate Caps a Difficult Year for the Chain
The requirement that employees eat at Cracker Barrel while traveling might seem like a minor policy change, but it caps a difficult period for the chain. Between the rebrand backlash, menu complaints, layoffs, and sliding sales, the company is clearly feeling financial pressure. The policy also bans workers from expensing alcohol on business trips unless they get pre-approval from senior leadership. Whether forcing employees to eat country-fried steak on every business trip will meaningfully cut costs remains to be seen.
