Cracker Barrel Sells Maple Street Biscuit Company, Leases Back 26 Locations
The parent company of Cracker Barrel is divesting its fast-casual brand and monetizing real estate to reduce debt and enhance profitability.
Cracker Barrel is selling its restaurant properties and exiting its Maple Street Biscuit Company business as part of a broader strategy to cut debt and improve profits. The company announced Monday that it has sold the Maple Street brand and assets associated with 35 locations to Biscuit Belly LLC. Cracker Barrel will close the remaining 16 Maple Street restaurants.
In a separate transaction, Cracker Barrel completed a sale-leaseback deal involving 26 company-owned locations, generating approximately $77 million in net proceeds. The company intends to use these funds to pay down debt, continuing to operate the restaurants by leasing the properties from the new owner.
"These efforts reflect the discipline we bring to managing our business and balance sheet as we position Cracker Barrel for long-term success and shareholder value creation," said Julie Masino, president and CEO of Cracker Barrel, in a statement. "Our sale-leaseback transaction will allow us to opportunistically reduce debt while monetizing a portion of our owned real estate at an attractive valuation."
Masino added that divesting Maple Street will sharpen the company's focus on the core Cracker Barrel brand and is expected to improve profitability. Maple Street accounted for less than 2% of Cracker Barrel’s annual revenue, and the sale is anticipated to boost adjusted EBITDA beginning in fiscal year 2027.
Biscuit Belly, which currently operates 15 locations, stated that the acquisition will enable quicker expansion. The company plans to convert the acquired Maple Street restaurants into Biscuit Belly locations over the next 18 to 24 months. Initial conversions are slated for the greater Cincinnati area and Richmond, Virginia. This deal is expected to more than triple Biscuit Belly’s footprint and help the chain grow to over 60 locations by the end of 2028.
"When we looked at Maple Street’s geography, footprints, and established teams, a light bulb went off," said Chad Coulter, co-founder and CEO of Biscuit Belly.
Cracker Barrel expects to record between $37 million and $39 million in non-cash charges related to the Maple Street exit in its fiscal fourth quarter, along with an additional $6 million to $8 million in cash costs. The company operates approximately 660 company-owned locations across 43 states. This strategic shift follows a period of backlash last summer concerning proposed changes to its logo and restaurant interiors, which included the temporary removal of the "Old Timer" from its logo, a decision the company later reversed after customer complaints.