Who Actually Owns Cracker Barrel? - Tasting Table

"Cracker Barrel is officially called Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc., and it's listed on the Nasdaq as a publicly traded company. It's worth mentioning that the company is solely in the restaurant business, and while some grocery items share its name, they're completely unrelated. The first Cracker Barrel location opened in 1969 on a highway outside of Lebanon, Tennessee. Founder Dan Evins originally started the company as a way to boost gasoline sales for Shell, but the chain continued to grow, taking on a life of its own."

"Seeking investment to continue its meteoric growth, Cracker Barrel went public in 1981. Early investors who bet on the business were laughing all the way to the bank - 11 years later, the company was valued at $1 billion. Today, around 60% of its shares are owned by institutional investors, including BlackRock, Inc., The Vanguard Group, and GMT Capital Corp. The company's operations are overseen by a board of directors, currently led by President and CEO Julie Felss Masino."

"While anybody can own a piece of Cracker Barrel, current shareholders may be wishing they didn't. Despite decades of impressive growth, the company's value has steadily dropped in recent years. Cracker Barrel is struggling for a number of reasons, but it's clear its problems started around the COVID-19 pandemic. Like most restaurant businesses, Cracker Barrel's value plummeted in the early days of the pandemic."

"Cracker Barrel has always represented itself as an authentic slice of rural America, with its rustic menu and old-fashioned decor. This made it all the more surprising when the restaurant chain decided to change its classic logo in 2025 in a misguided attempt to modernize the brand. And while you'd expect to see a handful of diehard Cracker Barrel fans expressing their displeasure on Facebook, the fallout was far greater than it had any right to be. It does make you wonder - who actually signed off on the decision?"

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. operates restaurants and is publicly traded on Nasdaq. The first location opened in 1969 near Lebanon, Tennessee, and the company grew from a gasoline-sales initiative into a nationwide chain. It went public in 1981 and reached a $1 billion valuation about 11 years later. Institutional investors hold roughly 60% of shares, with oversight by a board led by CEO Julie Felss Masino. Despite earlier growth, the company’s value has declined in recent years. The decline began around the COVID-19 pandemic, when restaurant businesses saw sharp drops in value during the early period.

Read at Tasting Table