To Celebrate 50 Years, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Releases Southern Fried Chicken

As America's "home away from home" for 50 years, Cracker Barrel rolls out a classic, comfort-food staple for the ages

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Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc.

Apr 29, 2019, 09:00 ET

LEBANON, Tenn., April 29, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- To celebrate its 50^th anniversary, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store today announced the launch of Southern Fried Chicken, the newest addition to its menu of homestyle, made-from-scratch offerings. To pay homage to one of the most well-loved dishes in Southern cooking, each piece of bone-in Southern Fried Chicken is authentically prepared, double-breaded by hand with a custom blend of three types of black pepper and several seasonings and spices, then fried until it is perfectly crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.

For five decades, guests at Cracker Barrel® have enjoyed generous portions of high-quality, homestyle food offered at an everyday value. Southern Fried Chicken further delivers on this promise to provide authentically prepared homestyle cooking at a fair price, as each plate features a half chicken – a breast, thigh, leg and wing – and is served with two country sides and homemade buttermilk biscuits or corn muffins, for $10.79.

To celebrate its 50th anniversary, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store today announced the launch of Southern Fried Chicken, the newest addition to its menu of homestyle, made-from-scratch offerings. To pay homage to one of the most well-loved dishes in Southern cooking, each piece of bone-in Southern Fried Chicken is authentically prepared, double-breaded by hand with a custom blend of three types of black pepper and several seasonings and spices, then fried until it is perfectly crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.

Cracker Barrel’s Southern Fried Chicken Picnic Box is the perfect family meal to-go. The Picnic Box’s unique packaging makes it easy to carry home a complete meal, including 12 perfectly golden pieces of double-breaded, crispy, juicy, Southern Fried Chicken, a choice of two country sides, and buttermilk biscuits. A half-gallon of sweet or unsweetened tea, lemonade or strawberry lemonade, and banana pudding or cookies can be added for an additional charge. The Picnic Box will be available nationwide beginning on May 20 for $33.99.

For five decades, guests at Cracker Barrel® have enjoyed generous portions of high-quality, homestyle food offered at an everyday value. Southern Fried Chicken further delivers on this promise to provide authentically prepared homestyle cooking at a fair price, as each plate features a half chicken – a breast, thigh, leg and wing – and is served with two country sides and homemade buttermilk biscuits or corn muffins, for $10.79 (price and availability may vary by location).

To complete this unique, craveable experience, made special by Cracker Barrel's beloved brand of friendly and hospitable service, each dish of Southern Fried Chicken arrives at the table with its own bear-shaped bottle of honey. This adds a touch of amber sweetness for guests to enjoy their meal in iconic Southern fashion.

"This year will mark Cracker Barrel's 50^th anniversary, and we are so pleased to offer guests our take on a classic dish like fried chicken for this occasion," said Cracker Barrel's Vice President of Culinary Cammie Spillyards-Schaefer. "To celebrate this milestone, we felt our guests were deserving of something special, from the heart, and as good as home. Our culinary team traveled throughout the South, noting what makes fried chicken so delicious and so popular in order to develop the perfect recipe rooted in traditional Southern cooking."

With the introduction of Southern Fried Chicken, Cracker Barrel is one of the few casual-dining restaurants with national reach offering bone-in fried chicken to its guests. This latest addition to the Cracker Barrel menu is the result of in-depth research into guest preferences and rigorous product development and testing to ensure Southern Fried Chicken met both the high standards of Cracker Barrel and the expectations of its guests, who appreciate the company's expertise in homestyle Southern cooking. The team spent years developing the recipe, perfecting the breading's spice and flour blends, ensuring a cooking method that allowed for a hearty, crispy outside and perfectly juicy inside, redesigning its kitchens in over 650 restaurants to accommodate new equipment, and training its workforce of over 70,000 team members.

"Given that we are a restaurant rooted in Southern cooking, we've always known the importance of adding bone-in fried chicken to our menu," Spillyards-Schaefer said. "Southern Fried Chicken has been a long time in the making because we knew Cracker Barrel had to get it just right. As an iconic food of the South, there is so much nostalgia and emotion connected to fried chicken. Nothing brings me back to fond childhood memories with my family like eating a plate of delicious, crispy fried chicken."

In addition to serving Southern Fried Chicken at Cracker Barrel locations throughout America, the company is also offering ways for guests to enjoy the new dish at home:

Southern Fried Chicken may be ordered to-go for pick-up.
A Southern Fried Chicken Picnic Box is the perfect family meal to-go. The Picnic Box's unique packaging makes it easy to carry home a complete meal, including 12 perfectly golden pieces of double-breaded, crispy, juicy, Southern Fried Chicken, a choice of two country sides, and buttermilk biscuits. A half-gallon of sweet or unsweetened tea, lemonade or strawberry lemonade, and banana pudding or cookies can be added for an additional charge. The Picnic Box will be available nationwide beginning on May 20 for $33.99 (price and availability may vary by location).

For more information about Cracker Barrel's Southern Fried Chicken, visit crackerbarrel.com.

About Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc.
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (Nasdaq: CBRL) shares warm welcomes and friendly service while offering guests quality homestyle food and unique shopping – all at a fair price. By creating a world filled with hospitality and charm through an experience that combines dining and shopping, guests are cared for like family. Established in 1969 in Lebanon, Tenn., Cracker Barrel and its affiliates operate 659 company-owned Cracker Barrel Old Country Store® locations in 45 states and own the fast-casual Holler and Dash® restaurants. For more information about the company, visit crackerbarrel.com.

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SOURCE Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc.