New York, May 21, 2026, 14:05 EDT
- CBRL added roughly 3.3% in afternoon trading on Nasdaq, ahead of Darden and Texas Roadhouse, but behind Brinker’s advance.
- Cracker Barrel is rolling out a summer promotion for loyalty members as it looks to stabilize traffic following last year’s brand mistake.
- The next thing to watch is if the recent gains in guest scores translate to sales and margins.
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store shares gained Thursday, building on a volatile week. Investors appear to be moving on from last year’s brand issues as the summer travel season gets closer.
CBRL traded up 3.3% to $30.97, with shares moving between $29.16 and $30.98. That puts the market cap close to $696 million. Volume lagged the daily average, so buyers were not piling in.
Why it’s coming up now: summer is when Cracker Barrel draws its biggest crowds. The company has always leaned on highway travelers, families on the road, and sales in its stores. This week, Cracker Barrel launched a 10-week “Fuel Your Summer Road Trip” sweepstakes for rewards members, putting $250,000 in food and gas cards up for grabs. PR Newswire
Cracker Barrel is launching a summer road trip promo, Chief Marketing Officer Sarah Moore said, adding “road trips are synonymous with summer.” From May 19 to July 26, the company will give 250 winners $1,000 each in Cracker Barrel and gas gift cards. PR Newswire
The stock rose with other names in casual dining. Darden Restaurants was up 0.8%, Texas Roadhouse gained 1.1% and Brinker International increased 3.8%. The rally was not just about Cracker Barrel.
Cracker Barrel still has more to prove than many of its rivals. The company said in March that second-quarter fiscal 2026 revenue dropped 7.9% from a year ago to $874.8 million. Comparable restaurant sales slipped 7.1%. Comparable retail sales were down 9.2%.
Chief Executive Julie Masino said at the time the company was seeing better guest metrics and was “well-positioned to regain prior momentum.” Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. also cut its fiscal 2026 outlook, now projecting revenue between $3.24 billion and $3.27 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $85 million to $100 million. Adjusted EBITDA leaves out interest, tax, depreciation, amortization and some other items. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc.
Cracker Barrel’s 2025 rebrand didn’t work. The company scrapped its new logo and stopped its updated store remodels after customers pushed back. Finance chief Craig Pommells called it “a bit of an unusual situation.” Truist Securities analyst Jake Bartlett said the damage was “severe with no sign of let-up” at the time. Changes to the menu and more marketing could help, he said. Reuters
CBRL is still trading nowhere near its 52-week top of $71.93, despite Thursday’s move higher. Shares are stuck much closer to the bottom end of the range, around $24.85.
The risk is that the summer push ends up looking more like a coupon bump, not a real comeback. If customers take the promotion but traffic, retail sales or margins don’t move, shares could lose some of this week’s gains.
Investors hoping for clarity will have to wait for the next quarterly report. For now, CBRL isn’t moving like the usual steady restaurant dividend play. It’s trading more like a recovery bet, with the market still waiting to see if road-trip customers return.
