Cracker Barrel sells Maple Street Biscuit Company to Biscuit Belly
A Southern dining chain known for being a roadside destination is trimming its footprint through divestment.
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc. sold its Maple Street Biscuit Company business, including the the chain's trademark, intellectual property and 34 locations, to Kentucky-based chain Biscuit Belly. The remaining 16 Maple Street locations will be closed. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Chad Coulter, founder and CEO of Biscuit Belly, which currently operates 15 locations, said in a LinkedIn post that the Maple Street locations would be converted over the next two years.
“Over the next 18-24 months, we will convert Maple Street locations to Biscuit Belly locations, giving them all a refresh inside and out and introducing our scratch-made menu to the current teams and communities around the Southeast, East Coast, Midwest and Texas,” he wrote. “If all goes as planned, Biscuit Belly will have 60-plus locations by the end of 2028.”
In a statement, Coulter said that two of the biggest headwinds that growing brands encounter are the time required to find and build locations, and the difficulty of finding great teams.
"When we looked at Maple Street’s geography, footprints, and established teams, a light bulb went off," he said.
Nashville-based Maple Street, which specializes in scratch-made buttermilk biscuits, fried chicken, specialty coffee and more, opened its first location in 2012. It was acquired by Cracker Barrel for $36 million in 2019.
In addition to the divestment, Cracker Barrel has completed a sale-leaseback transaction with an institutional real estate investor for 26 company-owned store locations, generating net proceeds of approximately $77 million. The company says it intends to deploy the proceeds towards debt reduction.
"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 Cracker Barrel president and CEO Julie Masino. "Our sale-leaseback transaction will allow us to opportunistically reduce debt while monetizing a portion of our owned real estate at an attractive valuation. Divesting Maple Street sharpens our focus on the core Cracker Barrel brand and is expected to improve profitability.”
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Through the first eleven weeks of the company's fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, comparable store restaurant sales at Cracker Barrel decreased approximately 2.5%, while comparable store retail sales increased approximately 0.5% compared to the same period in the prior year.
Cracker Barrel now expects to “achieve or exceed the high end” of its revenue range and exceed its adjusted EBITDA outlook for fiscal 2026, which ends July 31, 2026. On June 9, 2026, Cracker Barrel said it anticipated total revenue of $3.27 billion to $3.30 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $120 million to $125 million.
“Combined with our improved fiscal 2026 outlook and reduced leverage, these actions demonstrate the progress we are making against our strategic priorities,” added Masino.
Founded in 1969, Cracker Barrel operates approximately 660 company-owned locations in 43 states. The chain is known for its homestyle Southern-inspired food and in-restaurant retail shops.
