Cracker Barrel Old Country Store — Restaurant in Bluegrass Region

I suppose we arrived at exactly the right time. We walked in and we're seated immediately. There were not very many patrons present upon our arrival, but filtered in while our time progressed.

It was just a few minutes, at most, before Harrison, our server, arrived. He was very well kept, sharply dressed in the appropriate uniform. His demeanor was outstanding. Calm, low-key, patient, attentive, and very professional.

His service was top notch. He was never intrusive, yet always there when we needed. I overheard, while he was speaking with the couple next to us, that he was a K State student. That couple must be regulars, since Harrison seemed to know them, as did another server.

Before we left, as we were standing, Harrison began to clear our table. I took that opportunity to ask him about his mask. It was promoting his fraternity, on the right side. On the left were the letters "NUPE". I had to ask, he quickly offered the words that I believe will aid Harrison in his future. "Never underestimate people's endeavors". I know I will not be underestimating his endeavors.

Harrison, if you get to read this, know that I have a high opinion of you, and fully believe I will see you in the future as you do great things. Keep up the great work!

Update Well tonight, 12/17/2020, we had another outstanding server. Skye K was absolutely stunning. She carried herself with pride, very sharp. Her personality was spectacular and her joy shown through. I know she had a challenge trying to read me, and I apologize for that, I just could not seem to decide between Momma's Pancake Breakfast and the Sunday Homestyle Chicken. Still not sure if I made the best choice. Ha! Momma's Pancake Breakfast won, and was quite tasty.

The entire experience with Skye was absolutely wonderful. I enjoyed having her as our server tonight. I wish we could have talked, but she was working hard, keeping everyone happy.

Skye, if you get to read this, please know my entire family was impressed by you. Your magnificent people skills, your spectacular personality, and your skill as a server and loving person shown through. Keep being you, and you will certainly go places.

I hope that I will be able to meet Harrison and Skye again in the future, at Cracker Barrel or elsewhere. They are two amazing individuals and I want to see...

Cracker Barrel used to be a pretty neat place for a family meal. Great service. Good, not great food with above average portions. Cracker Barrel had some kind of sparkle for a chain place. That, sadly, is gone. I have been maybe once a year for the past five years. I used to always order the exact same thing. The marinated grilled chicken fingers. First I noticed, consistently, the portion had become criminally smaller. Then the quality and flavor disappeared. The people I commonly went with expressed common sentiments about their go-tos. Today, I realized their trademark service had upped and disappeared. We had 20+ years of industry experience at our 4-top. We know how to be patient. Our server, however, was set up for failure. She did not need to be out of training. It’s like she walked in with zero server experience and got assigned a section the same day. From an extremely obvious lack of menu knowledge to a lack of knowledge about basic steps of service. This isn’t her fault. This is on management. Which, for having so many floor managers with their arms behind their backs I am shocked it took nearly an hour for one to finally show up at our table and fumble over offering biscuits and cornbread because it took so long. Initially I appreciated the courtesy even if a bit late. Roughly 20-25 minutes later our food arrives. Some cold. Some lukewarm. The casserole tots were BY FAR the warmest item that hit the table. So. Why are you stressing to get me biscuits (and silverware-an hour in) when clearly there is some food in the window getting cold instead of being run. After our biscuit visit we never got another visit from a manager. I don’t know if there is apathy that comes from even higher up...but this isn’t Cracker Barrel. And. Let me point out while I am certainly one that loves a cold beer with my meal....beginning to sell alcohol is a clear grab for sales. It looks very poor on a well-established culture. I really hope this gets turned around. However, it appears company wide the environment has gone toxic. Only a matter of time before a ton...

Let's start where every good story starts: at the beginning. We arrived at 4pm and wrongly assumed that it would be a quick in-and-out. We stood at the hostess station for what felt like 15 minutes before being seated. Upon entering the dining area, we noticed many tables waiting to be cleaned. Ours was clean thankfully (not a lot to choose from). I am not sure if the girl that seated us was the hostess. If it was, they need to reconsider. She had no personality and as the dining experienced wore on, didn't appear to have any work ethic. Our waiter, Barry, finally showed up to take our drink orders and seemed surprised that no one had been by yet (leading me to believe that he maybe wasn't actually our waiter). Barry had a great personality and was very friendly. He took time to bring things and do refills, but he always remembered what we had asked for. I think he was purely overwhelmed due to the lack of initiative from coworkers. As we were waiting for food, another family with two young kids got fed up with the wait and left. The food was very good once we got it and as we were eating, it was very entertaining to watch not only the initial girl, but other workers barely attempting to clear and wipe tables. I saw a girl with four stars on her apron (how are these earned?) pick up a plate off a nearby table and let a straw wrapper fall to the ground and never bent down to pick it up. All other patrons had the same look of disbelief on their faces as we did. Some of the workers need to spend some time with the Amish to learn work ethic. Is it something that can be taught? In summation, food is symbolized by the first star and Barry our waiter earned the second star. Most of the other workers should be fired for lack of work ethic. I know this can be difficult, especially with the lack of people wanting to work. Maybe switch to...