Consumer Trends

America's favorite family-style chains

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store leads the way again.
cracker barrel
Photograph courtesy of Cracker Barrel

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store has been expanding its reach through acquisitions, recently purchasing fast casual Maple Street Biscuit Co. and making a big investment in eatertainment brand Punch Bowl Social. Cracker Barrel’s Holler & Dash biscuit concept is being folded into the Maple Street acquisition.

Family StyleService & HospitalityUnit Appearance & AmbianceFood & BeverageConvenience & TakeoutValueOverall Score
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store66.3%59.8%57.9%57.1%50.3%58.1%
First Watch65.0%55.9%59.6%56.4%43.6%56.7%
Old Country Buffet65.6%50.6%55.1%56.3%49.1%54.1%

Source: Technomic Ignite consumer data; scores represent the percentage of respondents who strongly agree with the statements, on a scale of 1 to 5.

Learn more about America's Favorite Chains.

Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.

Multimedia

Exclusive Content

Financing

Surprise, surprise: California kept its full-service restaurants in the dark for months

Reality Check: The state attorney general had refused to clarify the scope of the state's pending anti-junk-fee law. It's one more smack in the face to the trade.

Financing

Why social media, and not price, is behind Starbucks' sales problems

The Bottom Line: The coffee shop chain lost momentum quickly in November. That was too fast to be explained by consumer reaction over the prices of its beverages.

Financing

Franchisors who want faster remodels should reach into their pocketbooks

The Bottom Line: Burger King is spending $550 million to get more of its restaurants remodeled, not counting its own upgraded restaurants. More brands should do this.

Trending

More from our partners