Cracker Barrel responds to report its touring staff are anticipated to eat at Cracker Barrel

If you’re employed for Cracker Barrel and also you’re on an organization highway journey, you are anticipated to eat at Cracker Barrel — at any time when sensible, that’s, the corporate mentioned on Wednesday.

And do not even take into consideration shopping for booze with out a boss’ approval.

That, in a nutshell, is the Cracker Barrel company guideline that was revealed this week by The Wall Street Journal in a narrative that has since gone viral.

“Employees are expected to dine at a Cracker Barrel store for all or the majority of meals while traveling, whenever practical based on location and schedule,” the corporate mentioned in an inside message obtained by the Journal.

In addition, any alcohol purchases need to be OK’d prematurely.

“Exceptions for special occasions must be pre-approved by an E-Team member,” the corporate memo said.

Cracker Barrel — well-known for Southern fare like hen fried steaks and grits — confirmed the existence of the rule, however insisted this explicit journey expense rule had been in place since June 2024 and doesn’t imply staff cannot eat elsewhere.

“The policy for employees to dine at Cracker Barrel while traveling for business, whenever practical, based on location and schedule, is not new,” the corporate mentioned in an announcement to NBC News on Wednesday.

“Also, it is not the only place that our employees may eat when on the road, as previously reported,” the statement said. “The change was to further limit reimbursement of alcoholic beverages under the policy.”

Cracker Barrel started catching flak for allegedly being company scrooges after the Journal started its story about so-called travelscrimping with the corporate’s journey expense tips.

What is travelscrimping? That’s when corporations trying to save a buck within the present attempting financial occasions lower bills by going after journey budgets, forcing employees to do issues like e book rooms at motels as a substitute of motels and purchase groceries as a substitute of consuming out.

The revelation that Cracker Barrel was attempting to rein in journey bills generated one other wave of backlash for the corporate. The restaurant chain was on the receiving finish of conservative fury final yr when it tried to mothball its longtime brand with the “Old Timer” perched on a chair and leaning in opposition to a barrel.

The new “All the More” brand from Cracker Barrel was deemed “too woke” by President Donald Trump and his followers.

Cracker Barrel, which has eating places in 43 states, backtracked in August and returned the “Old Timer” to the emblem.

“We thank our visitors for sharing your voices and love for Cracker Barrel,” the company said at the time on Facebook. “We mentioned we’d pay attention, and we’ve got. Our new brand goes away and our ‘Old Timer’ will stay.”