Cracker Barrel Sells 26 Stores, Divests Maple Street Biscuit Company Assets

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. has completed a sale-leaseback transaction with an institutional real estate investor for 26 company-owned Cracker Barrel store locations, generating net proceeds of approximately $77 million. The company plans to use the proceeds for debt reduction. The transaction is tax efficient and enables Cracker Barrel to utilize capital loss carryforwards that would have otherwise expired.

Cracker Barrel also completed the sale of certain assets used in its Maple Street Biscuit Company business, including the Maple Street Biscuit Company trademark and the assets used in 35 Maple Street Biscuit Company locations, to Biscuit Belly, LLC. At the same time, the company announced the closure of the remaining 16 Maple Street Biscuit Company locations.

In connection with the Maple Street Biscuit Company divestiture and closures, Cracker Barrel expects to recognize non-cash charges of approximately $37 million to $39 million during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026. Additional cash charges of approximately $6 million to $8 million are anticipated as a result of exiting the business, with some charges expected in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026 and some in fiscal 2027. Maple Street Biscuit Company contributed less than 2% of Cracker Barrel's annual revenue. The divestiture is expected to be accretive to adjusted EBITDA beginning in fiscal 2027.

For the first eleven weeks of the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, comparable store restaurant sales decreased approximately 2.5%, and comparable store retail sales increased approximately 0.5% compared to the same period in the prior year.

Cracker Barrel now expects to achieve or exceed the high end of its revenue range and exceed its adjusted EBITDA outlook for fiscal 2026, which ends July 31, 2026. On June 9, 2026, the company had provided guidance for total revenue of $3.27 billion to $3.30 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $120 million to $125 million.