Cracker Barrel is urging staffers to dine at the Southern chain for all meals during work trips as it seeks to cut costs amid a prolonged sales slump following backlash over its “woke” rebrand — another example of “travelscrimping,” in which firms drain the fun out of work trips to save a few bucks.
The company asked employees to postpone work travel until later this year, when it hopes to have recovered from a steep sales decline.
If travel is necessary, then workers should fill up on Cracker Barrel’s Southern fixins – like grits, casserole, and biscuits and gravy – for all of their meals, the company said.
“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 company said in an internal message obtained by The Wall Street Journal.
The policy marks an instance of “travelscrimping ” — stripping away any sense of glamor or luxury from work trips – one of the last remaining perks of white-collar work amid return-to-office mandates and sweeping layoffs, The Journal noted.
Cracker Barrel even cut off traveling employees from free drinks, mandating that all alcoholic beverages be paid out of pocket.
“Exceptions for special occasions must be pre-approved by an E-Team member,” the company wrote in its memo.
Some Cracker Barrel employees shrugged off the changes, saying they were unaware they were even allowed to drink on work trips previously. The restaurant only added alcohol to its menus in 2021.
“The policy for employees to dine at Cracker Barrel while traveling for business, whenever practical based on location and schedule, is not new. Also, it is not the only place that our employees may eat when on the road, as previously reported,” Cracker Barrel told The Post in a statement.
“The change was to further limit reimbursement of alcoholic beverages under the policy.”
It’s not the only company to cut back on employee expenses as businesses seek to lower costs — pushing workers to hunt for cheap hotel rooms, buy prepared meals from grocery stores or lug their clothes to laundromats while away.
During an investor call in December, Cracker Barrel execs also said they were looking to save $20 million to $25 million in annual spending by streamlining the company’s corporate support center, including through layoffs.
The cost-cutting efforts come after Cracker Barrel suffered a hit to sales due to its attempted “woke” rebrand, which temporarily axed the chain’s Uncle Herschel character from the logo.
The revised logo and remodeled restaurants – which cut back on Cracker Barrel’s tchotchkes and ambience – were meant to attract Gen Z customers and drive growth as the chain faced traffic declines.
Instead, it faced extreme backlash from longtime customers, who argued Cracker Barrel was cutting its ties to traditional US culture.
Cracker Barrel coughed up an apology in August and reversed its redesign after President Trump urged the chain to “go back to the old logo, admit a mistake based on customer response (the ultimate Poll), and manage the company better than ever before.”
The company’s stock ended 2025 down roughly 30%.
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