Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Continues to #CareItForward by Surprising Guests Across the U.S. with Free Breakfast

LEBANON, Tenn., Aug. 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Cracker Barrel Old Country Store® surprised guests with free breakfast in all 663 of its restaurants Tuesday morning as part of its ongoing Care It Forward program. Instead of a check, guests who dined between 7-8 a.m. local time at Cracker Barrel restaurants across the country were handed a note informing them that their meal was taken care of and were invited to care it forward by extending small acts of kindness to others. At one of Cracker Barrel's Nashville restaurants, rising country music star Brittney Spencer joined the surprise and helped break the free breakfast news to guests and several of her fans.

"Though the outside world may be filled with challenges right now, everyone can find care inside Cracker Barrel," Cracker Barrel Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Jennifer Tate said. "We wanted to lead by example with this random act of kindness for guests across the nation in hopes that it will inspire them to 'Care It Forward' in their own way. Cracker Barrel will continue to look for opportunities to surprise and delight our guests with care throughout the year." 

In line with the company's history of caring for employees and guests like family, Cracker Barrel has been amplifying care and connection in numerous ways this summer – including surprising guests with free gift cards in June and free meals yesterday, as well as through its partnerships with GRAMMY Award-winning musicians and songwriters. Shane McAnally, Jennifer Nettles and CeCe Winans have been paired with rising stars in the industry to act as mentors and offer support on their journeys. The artists' mentees have been paying that kindness forward to encourage others to do the same.

• Tauren Wells, Winans' mentee and eight-time GRAMMY® nominated artist, surprised a couple in Arizona by being part of their engagement at a Cracker Barrel this past weekend, helping the music-loving groom propose to his bride with one of their favorite songs. The two met at Cracker Barrel in 2020, and Wells is one of their favorite artists. Without knowing about Wells' involvement with Cracker Barrel, the groom reached out to the brand to share his dream proposal – and Wells made it happen!
• Brittney Spencer, an up-and-coming country star and a CMT's Next Women of Country class member, was chosen by Nettles to be her mentee to help uplift and shine a light on women of color in the country music industry. Spencer surprised some of her fans at a Cracker Barrel in Nashville yesterday morning to let them know their breakfast was taken care of and to demonstrate that there's no act of kindness too big or too small to show care.
• Kylie Morgan, McAnally's mentee and rising singer-songwriter, is using the heartfelt love story that inspired the song 'Growing Young' that she co-wrote with McAnally as inspiration for her participation in the program.

Cracker Barrel guests, employees and community members who show care for one another are invited to share their stories and inspire others by using #CareItForward on social media. To learn more about how the Cracker Barrel family is showing care, visit crackerbarrel.com/careitforward. 

About Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc.
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (Nasdaq: CBRL) provides a caring and friendly home-away-from-home experience while offering guests quality homestyle food to enjoy in-store or to-go and unique shopping – all at a fair price.  Established in 1969 in Lebanon, Tenn., Cracker Barrel and its affiliates operate more than 660 company-owned Cracker Barrel Old Country Store® locations in 45 states and own the breakfast and lunch focused fast-casual Maple Street Biscuit Company® restaurants. For more information about the company, visit crackerbarrel.com.

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SOURCE Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc.