This rainbow trout meal is one of several Cracker Barrel is offering for under $8. Image Credit/Cracker Barrel
A meal at Cracker Barrel will get a little more expensive this year. The Lebanon-based restaurant chain says prices will go up by about two percent.
Cracker Barrel is just one of several national chains to announce price increases. You can also expect to pay more at Chipotle and Olive Garden. The reason: last year’s drought means commodities are more expensive. The cost of beef is expected to go way up, as much as 10 percent. Sandy Cochran is Cracker Barrel’s CEO.
“We’re very mindful and concerned about where the consumer is right now with respect to the pricing decisions we’re making.”
Cracker Barrel is trying to highlight its less expensive offerings. It’s started an aggressive marketing push to promote dinner plates, priced under eight dollars. But food prices might not be Cracker Barrel’s only challenge this year. Company executives say they’re seeing evidence that an increase in gas prices and payroll taxes are having a negative effect on store traffic.
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