If you work for Cracker Barrel and you’re on a company road trip, you’re expected to eat at Cracker Barrel — whenever practical, that is, the company said on Wednesday.
And don’t even think about buying booze without a boss’ approval.
That, in a nutshell, is the Cracker Barrel corporate guideline that was revealed this week by The Wall Street Journal in a story 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 company said in an internal message obtained by the Journal.
In addition, any alcohol purchases have to be OK’d in advance.
“Exceptions for special occasions must be pre-approved by an E-Team member,” the company memo stated.
Cracker Barrel — famous for Southern fare like chicken fried steaks and grits — confirmed the existence of the guideline, but insisted this particular travel expense rule had been in place since June 2024 and does not mean employees can’t 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 company said in a statement 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 began catching flak for allegedly being corporate scrooges after the Journal began its story about so-called travelscrimping with the company’s travel expense guidelines.
What is travelscrimping? That’s when companies looking to save a buck in the current trying economic times cut expenses by going after travel budgets, forcing workers to do things like book rooms at motels instead of hotels and buy groceries instead of eating out.
The revelation that Cracker Barrel was trying to rein in travel expenses generated another wave of backlash for the company. The restaurant chain was on the receiving end of conservative fury last year when it tried to mothball its longtime logo with the « Old Timer » perched on a chair and leaning against a barrel.
The new « All the More » logo from Cracker Barrel was deemed « too woke » by President Donald Trump and his followers.
Cracker Barrel, which has restaurants in 43 states, backtracked in August and returned the « Old Timer » to the logo.
“We thank our guests for sharing your voices and love for Cracker Barrel, » the company said at the time on Facebook. « We said we would listen, and we have. Our new logo is going away and our ‘Old Timer’ will remain. »
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