Cracker Barrel Soars But Why?

Seeking Alpha ^ | 13 Dec 16 | Josh Arnold

[SkyPilot]

•CBRL reported a decent Q1.

•Comps were positive but only because of strong pricing; traffic and the retail stores were weak.

•Margin growth continued but at nearly 21 times this year's earnings, the stock is way too expensive.

Cracker Barrel (NASDAQ:CBRL) has long been an example for others in the restaurant sector. The company has bucked weak trends in casual dining and its retail stores have helped shoulder the burden as well. CBRL's unique model has worked extremely well over the past few years and it pays a sizable dividend to boot. After a nice Q1 report, the stock is hitting new highs again but with the valuation becoming a concern, how much further can CBRL go?

[WVNan]

Their management model is excellent. If you want to manage a Cracker Barrel you have to “buy in” to it. If you don’t turn in your bid, you’re out. That’s why their many many stores are usually very well run. I loved working at the CB in Cookeville, TN. Made really good tips and learned from the best waitress who ever existed. Good life lessons, good people.

[xp38]

So grits are gritty. Gotcha

[Chengdu54]

I love Cracker Barrel. And after all these years I finally mastered that triangle peg puzzle!

[Vigilanteman]

I’ve heard from relatives in the south that grits are great for decimating hills of fire ants.

[pieceofthepuzzle]

I wonder if lower oil prices have helped them, since they are located near highways and traffic is probably a determinant of their volume.

[chajin]

for us northerners it’s about the only place we can get grits

It's the issue of how a society should best balance individual freedom and societal hominy

[SkyPilot]

[freedumb2003]

Well, I ate lunch here the other day so...

[Psycho_Runner]

You mean “Whole Paycheck”.

[Ditter]

I know a lot of you like Cracker Barrel and I am sure that some of their offerings are tasty........but some of them aren’t. My husbands food was awful, uneatable. I have several food allergies and when I asked what was in a certain dish, the server said she didn’t know. The food is prepared at another location and shipped in bulk to each CB where it is thawed out and warmed up. Y’all can have our table because we are never going back.

[WVNan]

Sacrilege. Grits are the god-food of the South.

[SkyPilot]

I’ve heard from relatives in the south that grits are great for decimating hills of fire ants.

I used to try everything to eradicate them when I lived in the south. Gasoline, explosives, various poisons.

I finally hit upon a powder that smelled like rotten cabbage. You sprinkled it on the mound, and the ants caught it on their feet and brought it back deep into the mound, like a virus.

It was the bubonic plague for fire ants. Decimated them.

[boycott]

Agreed. Very good place to dine and I don’t mind giving them my business.

Meanwhile, I still boycott Target and Kelloggs. These clowns didn’t have the good sense to stay out of the culture wars.

[SkyPilot]

Sounds low carb and low sodium too!

[WVNan]

For those who want more than the dinner plates offer, order the Fancy Fixings meal. You can’t eat all of it. Their hash browns are casseroles, baked.

[pollywog]

thanks for the recipe SkyPilot...
going to copy and make these for Christmas. Great with sliced ham..

[GreyFriar]

I recall eating their hash browns many years ago when I was on TDY. Unfortunately I was coming down with the flu and shortly after my meal, my stomach said “wrong decision to eat” with the obvious result. For whatever reason, I have not been able to eat there hash brown casserole since then.

[discostu]

What about the counties that have both?

Never been that enamored of Cracker Barrel. It’s OK, comfort food, high in fat, high in carbs, violates every possible diet, funny stuff in the gift shop. Most of them seem to be by the freeway, and they’re better than most of the stuff on the freeway. But never terribly exciting, acceptable food. Not into Whole Food either, overpriced psuedo-health food and stinky ointments.

[boycott]

I finally hit upon a powder that smelled like rotten cabbage.

—

Yeah? What powder would this be?

[bigbob]

Funny!!

Actually they’re not so bad only who amongst us can resist the temptation to tweak our fellow citizens from different cultures?

Which is by way of saying, us northerners are looking forward to below-zero temps tonight and that four-letter word that grit-lovers tease us about: “snow”.

I do love the Cracker Barrel, so we have common ground.