Cracker Barrel Old Country Store — Restaurant in Knoxville

Cracker Barrel used to be one of my favorite places to go to for breakfast and (usually) dinner. Now... not so much.

Traveling back to the east coast along I40 and made 2 stops at Cracker Barrels along the way. The first one was in Jackson TN and the 2nd was this location (Knoxville).

I stopped at the one in Jackson to take a break from driving and was hoping to get a bit of a late lunch/early dinner. Parking log was fairly empty so didn't think there would be an issue. Went in, went to the bathroom to wash my hands and then went to the hostess stand and was told that there was a 15 minute wait. I looked into the dining room and around and asked "where???" I ended up leaving and going to Krystal Burger (we don't have these anymore where I live) and eating there instead.

Finally made it to Knoxville and spent the night. The next morning before continuing my journey I stopped at the Cracker Barrel in East Knoxville for breakfast. I went in, was seated and I placed my order. For 9am on a Morning, I wasn't expecting them to be busy so I thought it would be a quick in and out.

Looking over the menu, I noticed a lot of the favorites were now missing. Including my "eggs in a basket" that I always liked to order. Not really seeing anything I was super interested in, I settled for the hashbrown casserole bowl with steak tips. I waited, my food arrived. The dish was really dry and the steak tips were chewy. Not only that but it bordered on being room temperature- it was definitely not hot. I had to ask for an additional sauce to pour over my bowl to make it more palatable. I ended up leaving about half of the steak tips because they were just so dry and chewy.

Cracker Barrel shouldn't have to look very far in regards to why they are losing customers. 86'ing more than half of your menu items, the quality of the food that you currently serve and the general prices along with staffing should be a pretty good indicator as to why you are not getting the business. Its just not baby boomers who are going elsewhere, its others. There are better options out there for where to eat with better quality food than what is currently being served at Cracker Barrel.

I really hate to even have to post this because Cracker Barrel was one of my favorite places to go. It also held quite a bit of memories as that was one place my Dad liked to go before he passed. With my recent experiences, I don't think I'll go back...

The logo wasn't the problem or solution. It's the food/service that needs attention and this location is the perfect example, We had traveled all day and were hungry and tired, This Cracker Barrel was very close and easy to get to so we stopped in. The restaurant closes at 9:00 we got there at 8:00 and were seated right away. It took a very long time for a server to show up (it wasn't busy at all). First my wife asked for hot tea, he said they didn't have hot tea (what???). I ordered iced tea and my wife just got water. It took awhile longer for that to come out, then when we gave our order, we had to keep repeating it because the server couldn't remember from one item to the next. After waiting awhile longer, the server returned and told us he had lost his order pad and we had to give him the order again, repeating it several times...again. I ordered the Nashville hot chicken, my wife ordered the fried shrimp and we had to ask for biscuits since they weren't offered to us. A little while longer (it's now 8:30) the server comes back and informs us that they can't make either of our meals because the fryers had been turned off for the night. A HALF HOUR BEFORE CLOSING! AT A RESTAURANT THAT SPECIALIZES IN SOUTHERN FRIED FOODS!?! So we tried ordering something else. As we were doing so, the shift manager came out to reiterate that the fryers were shut off and then pointed to the servers order pad and said they couldn't do that either (whatever that was). At which point we were so disgusted, tired and hungry, we told them we'd had enough stood up and walked out as the shift manager was fussing at US for being difficult. Well we went across the road to Cantina Amigo's instead and had a very good meal there. Oh, by the way- the Cracker Barrel parking lot was very dark and the front of the building was not lit up at all making it very challenging to get in and out of. And we never did get our biscuits. We definitely do NOT recommend this Cracker Barrel location, but we're hopeful they're not all...

We were seated instantly even though others were waiting. How? Yes, Cracker Barrel let's you add yourself to the waitlist online but that's not how it happened.

When I checked in with the hostess she initially said it was about a 5-10 minute wait because we would be at the top of the list. No problem. But, she seated us immediately when I told her that we would like a table outside.

Yes, outside. Cracker Barrel in some locations are doing outdoor seating on the porch due to covid. I really hope they keep it up. It's less crowded and definitely less noisy.

Our server (Camille) did a great job. She didn't mind trips in for napkins etc. Our service from her was just as nice as it would have been indoors. She was prompt with refills and removed plates.

I'll describe my food as "okay". My husband got the country ham and scrambled eggs and said it was very good. It came with grits, biscuits and gravy.

Getting the hamburger steak with pintos and greens wasn't my smartest move. Someone was way too heavy handed with the salt shaker on the greens. They're doing this new garlic butter concoction on top of the hamburger steak now. I asked them to hold it but the kitchen messed up. It is salty and the flavor doesn't come off well. Plus, its salty. (Did I mention that yet?) The highlights of my entree were the pintos and the biscuit.

Everything else was good and the service was stellar. Cracker Barrel if you read this, please keep the porch dining and get rid of the butter on the hamburger steak or serve it on the side if you must. If employees get a pat on the back, please consider that for our server. She did...