Cracker Barrel closes Portland Jantzen Beach location

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Re: Cracker Barrel closes Portland Jantzen Beach location

Post by storewanderer »

Brian Lutz wrote: March 27th, 2023, 12:38 pm Currently visiting my parents in Northern Idaho and visited the Cracker Barrel in Coeur d'Alene. It wasn't particularly busy, but this was around 11am on a Monday which I don't think would be a busy period anyway. Prices seemed to be in line with a Cracker Barrel I visited in North Carolina a couple of months ago, and they did have beer and wine on the menu. There are no Cracker Barrels in Washington but three in Idaho (1 in CdA, two in the Boise area) and two in Montana (Missoula and Billings) so it's hard to call this one a "far flung" location the same way a single Oregon location would be. Then again NC has more than 40 of these, so your mileage may vary.
Idaho still has a really low server wage mostly backfilled by tips so restaurant prices in Idaho are much lower than surrounding western states.

Cracker Barrel strikes me as a good concept to fit with MT.

There seems to be a trend that the further west you get the less busy this chain is. It will be interesting to see how they do in Reno. I am expecting them to do very well, they have selected a location that should draw traffic from a lot of different angles both local and tourist. I will be shocked if they are not busy at most/all hours in Reno. I'd also like to see them try to pull off a location out in Elko (I think the Dennys which has opened and closed multiple times just closed again) but staffing would probably be an issue and they'd need to price it like Utah which may not be possible with NV wages.

Maybe their restaurants are also just too big...
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Re: Cracker Barrel closes Portland Jantzen Beach location

Post by jamcool »

I don't think people on the West Coast (Calif especially) do big breakfasts, unlike in the South and Midwest. And half of a Cracker Barrel seems to be the rural-themed gift/candy/snacks shop-which I don't think Californians are interested in (no one in SoCal craves a Valomilk candy bar or Andy Griffith DVDs).

Maybe CB should build a smaller cafe/diner version with take out.
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Re: Cracker Barrel closes Portland Jantzen Beach location

Post by babs »

jamcool wrote: March 28th, 2023, 8:56 am I don't think people on the West Coast (Calif especially) do big breakfasts, unlike in the South and Midwest. And half of a Cracker Barrel seems to be the rural-themed gift/candy/snacks shop-which I don't think Californians are interested in (no one in SoCal craves a Valomilk candy bar or Andy Griffith DVDs).

Maybe CB should build a smaller cafe/diner version with take out.
I can tell you that's not accurate at least in Portland. Go to any place serving breakfast or brunch in Portland on the weekends and the place is packed with lines out the door. Cracker Barrel did well when they first opened up but I think lousy food and the high cost of doing business in Portland did them in.
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Re: Cracker Barrel closes Portland Jantzen Beach location

Post by veteran+ »

Big breakfast may be more of a weekend ritual and attendees want something better than Cracker Barrel, IHop, Denny's, etc.

In this case it is a social thing.

Of course there are exceptions in certain neighborhoods.
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Re: Cracker Barrel closes Portland Jantzen Beach location

Post by storewanderer »

I think on the West Coast there is a large segment of people who go out for breakfast but they do not want a bland egg, toast, and commodity sausage plate. They want something with more zing. They want a crepe, an egg benedict made from cage free egg, and some sort of special sounding sausage perhaps like applewood smoked chicken sausage or something. It isn't about a big portion. They don't want a big portion. It is about a big taste.

Many of these small restaurants, independent restaurants, that serve breakfast, are very slow to make food and turn tables. They look busy and have a wait list because they take close to an hour to turn a table, and the customers don't mind, they are in no hurry. Their prices are high due to their use of more locally sourced ingredients, often operating limited hours, and that they do not turn tables as quickly.

Chains like IHOP and Dennys continue to do well on the West Coast because they have long standing locations and there is a segment of people who do still want the bland egg, toast, and commodity sausage plate served in 5 minutes and go to those chains. Black Bear which is the bones of the old Jerrys chain and has also picked up a number of former Lyon's locations has been a great success story with bigger portions and a perception of "home made" food. I equate these chains to fast food. I could go to McDonalds, Wendys, or Carls Jr. at breakfast and basically get the same egg, commodity sausage, and some kind of commodity bread for a fraction of the price.

I think Cracker Barrel's biggest screw up in this OR/NorCal territory is the price structure they have. Sorry, but their food is just not worth those prices. There is no reason for the same basic breakfast that is 8.99 in Utah costs 12.99 in OR/NorCal. I get some price difference but that is too much. Cracker Barrel historically has had a strong value image- larger food portion of better tasting food than a Denny's or IHOP, with way more menu options, for a similar price. It seems in OR/NorCal they went with a "higher price" but also "smaller portion" and worst off "smaller menu" removing the unique items that people tie to Cracker Barrel strategy for some unknown reason. What still shocks me is this is corporate Cracker Barrel who has made this decision to price and operate this OR/NorCal market this way. This isn't some greedy franchisee.
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Re: Cracker Barrel closes Portland Jantzen Beach location

Post by storewanderer »

Went to Cracker Barrel in Las Vegas - must be the busiest unit in the chain. Waitlist on a weekday morning at 10:30 AM of 20+ minutes and they were running with all tables occupied. Constant line at cashier of 5 customers to pay.

Place runs like a well oiled machine. Well staffed, professional staff. Food is sort of slow, over 20 minutes for simple breakfasts.

Pricing is a lot lower than CA/OR units and it has the full menu. I enjoyed parts of the food. I was able to try parts of multiple items. Pancakes and scrambled eggs were oddly excellent. Sausage patties and bacon forgettable but passable. "Hashbrown casserole" may be good if you like that item but I hated it and any other side was an upcharge except "fried apples" (that sounds horrible). Chicken tenders are really good, soft, tender, and good flavor in the chicken but the BBQ sauce provided was sickeningly sweet. Macaroni and Cheese was overcooked and just did not taste great, wasn't worth eating for anyone (for comparison, Popeyes is better and so is Chickfila; neither are close to what I'd call top shelf macaroni and cheese).

Overall I think the problem with this chain is they are trying to be too many things to too many people. While core menu items are good and the atmosphere of the place is generally pleasing, they seem to be trying to do too much.

Their "retail store" that I spent waiting time in, is largely overpriced and not a style of items I like much. The candy area was interesting and 90% of the people I saw buying items from the store were buying candy (maybe also since it is placed where you line up to pay for your meal).

Knowing what to order I would go back. But had I just bought a plate of eggs, bacon and/or sausage, and that hashbrown casserole it would have absolutely been a no repeat visit anytime soon conclusion. I wonder how many in OR were turned off by that disgusting hashbrown casserole.
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Re: Cracker Barrel closes Portland Jantzen Beach location

Post by BillyGr »

storewanderer wrote: April 17th, 2023, 11:56 pm Pricing is a lot lower than CA/OR units and it has the full menu. I enjoyed parts of the food. I was able to try parts of multiple items. Pancakes and scrambled eggs were oddly excellent. Sausage patties and bacon forgettable but passable. "Hashbrown casserole" may be good if you like that item but I hated it and any other side was an upcharge except "fried apples" (that sounds horrible). Chicken tenders are really good, soft, tender, and good flavor in the chicken but the BBQ sauce provided was sickeningly sweet. Macaroni and Cheese was overcooked and just did not taste great, wasn't worth eating for anyone (for comparison, Popeyes is better and so is Chickfila; neither are close to what I'd call top shelf macaroni and cheese).

Their "retail store" that I spent waiting time in, is largely overpriced and not a style of items I like much. The candy area was interesting and 90% of the people I saw buying items from the store were buying candy (maybe also since it is placed where you line up to pay for your meal).

Knowing what to order I would go back. But had I just bought a plate of eggs, bacon and/or sausage, and that hashbrown casserole it would have absolutely been a no repeat visit anytime soon conclusion. I wonder how many in OR were turned off by that disgusting hashbrown casserole.
I always thought the hashbrown casserole was good, but that might just be that it is different (as you mentioned in another post), not just the "standard" hashbrowns that many places would offer.
The fried apples are actually good as well - much like a piece of apple pie without the crust would be a good way to describe them, I guess.

As to the retail store, much of it is supposed to be a gift type shopping setup. The candy (and other food items) are definitely interesting, as much of it is brands and types that have been around for a long time, but aren't found in most stores any longer, plus some items that are newer but also not commonly found in other stores (for instance, ours in NY had for a time Route 11 chips, made in VA but not sold in many other stores in NY state).
That may also explain the higher pricing (smaller companies that supply and thus don't have the volume of say a Hershey or similar on candy, as an example).
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Re: Cracker Barrel closes Portland Jantzen Beach location

Post by storewanderer »

I wonder why they call them fried apples if they are really cinnamon apples. I will have to try that next time.

I am sure the casserole is an acquired taste. I am not a fan of sour cream, so that rules it out for me right there.
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Re: Cracker Barrel closes Portland Jantzen Beach location

Post by buckguy »

Their most recent annual reporting is interesting https://investor.crackerbarrel.com/news ... esults-and ---they didn't outperform inflation (which they don't come out and say) and had weakness among older customers which seems a big part of their core audience. It's interesting that they're buying back shares (and inflating their dividend) but their wages are not projected to be consistent with inflation.

I'm sure there's regional variation in how their doing, but the big picture hasn't been all that great recently. It looks like their sales plateaued before COVID https://www.statista.com/statistics/868 ... evenue-us/ and browsing what I could find for the different years, their traffic was showing a small decline as their sales levelled off.
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Re: Cracker Barrel closes Portland Jantzen Beach location

Post by storewanderer »

If you look back in the 80's, 90's Cracker Barrel tried to sell itself to investors like a blue chip stock of sorts. This is why it has a high dividend.

In the past 5-8 years I don't know who the management is and I don't follow the company that closely but they seem to be trying to mess around and do different/strange things. They bought some kind of limited service biscuit format and I'm not clear how that actually performs. This expansion to CA/OR is clearly a very miserable and nasty failure for them. Adding liquor in 2020 was another somewhat curious move, while it makes sense to me, as a Nevadan, I can see how it may not be as acceptable to core customers of the chain from other regions where liquor is more regulated.

They had another earnings report at the end of February.

I was very satisfied with their pricing in Las Vegas. Not bad at all.

CA/OR- complete joke pricing. They should be ashamed for even trying to charge what they are charging.

I think their model is too labor intensive for the current labor market. They operate in a lot of states where servers are just paid the sub minimum wage+tips but with their large units, high volume, and high labor concept they still have a lot of people on staff who are non-tipped and paid quite a bit more.

What I see happening to their financials is similar to a lot of other restaurant operators in the US. And the period we are sitting in right now is tougher for restaurants than any period since the reopening. Things are cracking in the restaurant business, literally, as we speak. It is very very tough.

The thing I like about Cracker Barrel is at least the units are all corporate operated. Then again that didn't stop them from being stupid in OR/CA regarding price, menu, hours, etc. I hate to say a franchisee may have been able to do better...

So I think in recent years this chain has management in place that wants to do somewhat drastic things to grow and the results have been mixed (at best). This isn't the old 80's and 90's company that just built new units year after year across low cost regions of the US to show ongoing growth but was otherwise to be a boring sleepy investment you didn't need to think about much.
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