If the bickering between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump has been tough to take, have your noise-dampening headphones ready for the industry’s other big election this month, the balloting for control of Cracker Barrel Old Country Stores.
The combatants in that power struggle have made the back-and-forth between Democrat and Republican sound like teatime with Mr. Rogers and Tom Hanks. It’s not as if management and uber-critical shareholder Sardar Biglari are mustering new arguments for why the other’s nominees for board seats are unfit to supervise a lemonade stand. The accusations tend to be a rehash of criticisms that have been lobbed back and forth since 2011.
It’s the frequency of the shade-throwing that’s differentiating the current power struggle from the six that have preceded it. At least two volleys of criticisms have been fired in roughly the last week, with shareholders invited to sample more dirt on the websites each side has launched to win investors’ sympathies.
The most recent salvo was Cracker Barrel’s damning examination of Biglari’s track record in leading restaurant companies. In a letter to shareholders, the company recounted how systemwide sales for the venerable Steak ‘n Shake family-dining chain have fallen 9% per year since 2018, with 144 restaurants closing.
That was after Biglari was at the helm for a decade. Cracker Barrel’s new management has predicted to shareholders it will have the chain’s sales, traffic and unit count growing appreciably within three years.
Monday’s communication provided an even more dismal status report on Western Sizzlin, the budget steak concept whose reins Biglari assumed as chairman in 2006. Since then, the chain has shrunk to 33 stores, from a high-water mark of 140.
Both Steak ‘n Shake and Western’ Sizzlin are competitors for the family clientele that has traditionally been Cracker Barrel’s customer base.
The missive repeats Cracker Barrel’s acknowledgement that current directors would welcome the addition to their ranks of Michael Goodwin, a former tech officer for the e-retailer PetSmart and one of Biglari’s three nominees for the 10-person board.
But it strongly advises shareholders to vote against the other two nominees, Biglari himself and Milena Alberti-Perez, a former executive of the Getty Images photo clearinghouse. The letter repeats last week’s jab that Alberti-Perez has never even visited a Cracker Barrel, even when she was about to be interviewed by directors about getting a board seat.
Biglari has not yet responded to the letter from management.
The elections culminate in Cracker Barrel’s annual meeting, which is scheduled for Nov. 21. This year’s gathering will be solely virtual, with shareholders participating via conference call rather than a face-to-face meeting.