Cracker Barrel Old Country Store — Restaurant in Lakeville

I have been stalling about writing this review but the more i think about it the more i need to. On Monday 6/19 around 1pm I and my mom was here Lakeville Cracker Barrel. We were escorted to our table which we noticed it was not so clean. It was a window table that sit 4 but it was only 2 people. The chair closet to the window had crumbs in it. Then we noticed the floor was wet and my mom said her feet was sticking to the floor. The waitress came over we complained about the wet floor and the crumbs in the chair next to me. She said she had just came on her shift. When we look toward the middle of the restaurant the floor had visible food and crayons all around the tables. We discussed this with the waitress she said she will let the one for that area no when she get back in the back. We were there over an hour closer to 2 hours noone came and cleaned up the mess. The Waitress was very pleasant and did her job very well I was so disappointed in the cleanliness of the place. So as we got up to the counter my mom went to the bathroom i went to pay. My hands were full so i asked the cashier if i can have a larger plastic bad to put my 2 brown paper bags in. I also had cup holder holding 2 drinks. The cashier told me "You are ok you dont need a bag' i was appauld and speechless. A lady in line walked and pulled me a plastic bag down off the rack the cashier walked over angry at her for helping me they had some words. The cashier did bring the bag she grabbed from the other customer walked over to me said to me "I told you you were okay you didnt need a bag" im speechless. She said to me after putting my 2 bags in the plastic bag. Im glad you came and have a nice day. I could not believe how i was treated. Im still waiting on my mother to come out the bathroom. I can hear the cashier and customer having words. The customer was apologizing for over stepping her and helping me with the bag. The cashier was scolding her. I have never seen anything so unprofessional as i saw this day Monday June 19th starting with having to eat around dirty tables and noone came out to clean the 2hours we were there. Then the disrespect from the cashier checking out. This needed to be told expressed acknowledged. Im still upset

To add to this review i returned back on 7/6/23 at about 5:00pm for take out this time. Standing where you order take out. An employee by the name of Alana very aggressive i notice was the same cashier as before. She was very persistant about where i should stand and when i should pay for my meal. The hotess kept telling her it was okay she was taking care of me. Once i received my food i went to the other cashier. She kept saying to me you can step down here. I said no and the cashier Kathleen told...

I would not recommend this Cracker Barrel location to anyone. My wife, daughter and I went to breakfast this morning with my brother and his wife and daughter. Let me share why I’m giving the food 2 stars and the service 1 star.

First, the food was very average but that’s to be expected at a restaurant chain such as Cracker Barrel. The coffee was very watered down and the strawberries we got for our young daughters were mushy and soggy. The food was “good, not great” for everyone except for me. My order came out cold - and I mean COLD. I ordered the Biscuit Benny with a side of hash brown casserole and pancakes. The pancakes were hot and so was everyone else’s food, but my Biscuit Benny and hash brown casserole was cold to the touch. And the cold food leads to my service rating being 1 star…

Secondly, the service was poor. Kathy was kind and asked questions about our daughters once we sat down, but we only had 2 refills on coffee in the 45 minutes we were there. When I realized that my food was cold, I looked around for her and didn’t see her come out of the back by the kitchen until roughly 8 minutes later - WITH FOOD IN HER MOUTH, chewing whatever she had just ate before coming over to help a new table out. I had to wait an additional 5 minutes for her to get the new table drinks, which is okay, but what sent me over the moon was seeing her come from the kitchen eating while I’m sitting at my table with inedible cold food. As the customer, the one who should be enjoying their meal, why am I watching my server eat coming out of the kitchen?? This clearly is a reflection of management and the way they allow this restaurant to be run.

Overall, this location is not where I would go for breakfast, or a meal to eat in general. The food is average, the service was extremely disappointing, and I would rather spend my money elsewhere. My experience leads me to believe that management is not “running a tight enough ship” and the expectation of professionalism is not up to par with other Cracker Barrel locations or restaurants in general. I will not be coming back to this...

Okay so first I just have to say that the manager, Donald, is the ABSOLUTE CUTEST!! Quick story time: I have a phobia of crowds/feeling crowded. So being this is the only Cracker Barrel location in Minnesota now, it is always pretty busy throughout the weekend. That being said, I’ll just drive there later in the evening, (anywhere between a few hours to a half hour before close), place a to-go order for the biggest chicken and dumplings platter you can order with all sides as dumplings (being I come from so far away I want leftovers of my favorite comfort food), then while I wait for my order, I buzz through the store. So I get my nostalgic magic one tends to get going there. SO folks, I go up there on a weekend evening about an hour and a half before close and go to place the order I’ve placed every single time I’ve gone there my entire life…and poor Donald was the one who had to break the bad news to me that they had run out of chicken and dumplings about an hour or so prior. I had driven there from Plymouth and was also particularly sloth-like that day, so I whined a little, ordered something else, and aimlessly and emptily floated around the store. I heard my name being called from the host stand, and think well this is weird there’s no way the order is ready already, so I scurry to the host stand and there stands Donald with a little ramekin of dumplings. I had been bummed but realized it was my own fault for not calling ahead to order or to show up at a decent time, so wasn’t mad at Cracker Barrel or Donald or anyone beside myself…but Donald made my day with his kind gesture of scraping the last bit of the dumplings they had for me. For real, how stinking cute is this?! (See photo)

Usually the managers I interact with other places seem crabby and cold but Donald...