Cracker Barrel Old Country Store — Restaurant in Perry Township

Came in with a party of 3 on 02/03/2023. When we got there, we were told a 10-15 minute wait. That wasn't a big deal at all because it was a Friday, after all. Only after 6-7 other parties came in to wait did we realize most of the tables were empty and your hostess(s) were only seating a party as one left. Which wouldn't have been a problem if there had been a full house but legitimately half of the the tables were empty. While we were waiting near the hostess stand we openly, plainly, and very unprofessionally, heard one of 2 hostesses complaining about their coworkers. A very bold statement every waiting party heard was "I'm tired of them waiting so long to clear tables or making someone else do it so I just won't seat people at all until THEY do it themselves." We also heard them complaining about new waitresses and them being unwilling to help them clear their tables if they were behind and how they were only seating 3 tables to each of those new staff members. Then, as we were sat down we asked to have a table that wasn't an actual 5 inches away from another parties table & were told "That section isn't open, you can sit there if you want, you just won't ever been served." We were not comfortable with the distance between the table we did sit at. My body was barely a foot away from a complete stranger who was sitting at the table next to ours. It upset us because the VERY NEXT party that was seated, before we even ordered our drinks, was sat down at the table we had just asked to be sat at to be able to have some sort of privacy because we seen how close the middle aisle tables were together. The food was very mediocre which was a disappointment because I normally love the food from any Cracker Barrel location. My Chicken Fried Steak was completely hard around the outside edges and unedible. As we were leaving the cashier asked how our experience was and we voiced "our waiter was good but everything else was bad" and we were told "oh, thats sucks" and was never even asked why it was bad. The only good part of our experience was our waiter, Dennis. He was very respectful and nice. He was covering many tables by himself but still managed to keep up with every table in a very timely manner. He definitely deserves some sort of acknowledgment from the company because that poor man didn't stop moving the entire time my party was there. I will eat Cracker Barrel again, just never at...

Food average, Dim lighting at noon Service subpar

Today our server was Pam, she was nice and energetic however we never got any drinks back from her. We got our initial drink then one refill before our meal and didn’t get anything again. To the point I had to go into the back of the kitchen walk about 5 ft into the kitchen ( fully in the kitchen not the transition walk way I was next to the sink and drinks by an office) where Ruth helped get my drinks, I emptied my own cups and put them on the counter. I came back and new drinks were there and Pam was leaving the table.

Oh when I left the kitchen Shanna was back there and asked if I needed anything I said no i got it.

There was no rush, there weren’t any other servers. We paid and told the front , they insisted we talk to a manager. I didn’t want to just wanted to leave. But she persisted so I obliged. I spoke with the blonde hair white lady (don’t know her name she didn’t tell me) and she blamed it on a miscommunication that apparently Pam has said “let me get your drinks” and that I simply didn’t wait for her. I said no I never heard that and asked my wife standing next to me and she too responded with “cause she never said that” the manager then told me they were watching it unfold because I could’ve been a liability, if I had slipped or fallen, which is exactly how you want to feel when having to go to an establishment especially with staff that doesn’t come back or check unless you’re gone from the table then you have management that blames it on you.

I didn’t ask for anything comped , I have no issues paying for food. Simply put from staff to management it sucked and needs improvement.

I hope corporate sees this.

Tried calling guest relations from another 1 star review it asked me to stay on the line while being transferred then went to...

It took us 25 min in line to even put are names in to be able to sit down another 10 for are table to be ready that’s a wait of 35 minutes and we haven’t even ordered food yet. I decided on the chicken friend chicken the loaded mashed potatoes and the Mac N cheese. Normally I’d love all of these definitely the combining these. This time was very very different. The chicken was good not that hot seemed like it stayed a bit too long under the heat lamp but it was good. The sides however I combined them not to make it a great meal but that was the only way I could choke down the bland flavor of both of them. We decided on biscuits they didn’t come until after are food did and they were cold and dry . I had to choke those down too. Context for this next part I am a Type 1 Diabetic. I asked for a Coke Zero. First one I believe anyway was it was hard to tell because of how flat it was however the 2nd one they gave me a REGULAR COKE. It’s hard to explain how dangerous that is for me. My girlfriend who I went with got the chicken and dumplings the cinnamon apples and the hash brown casserole. These were again good they actually had flavor. However these were also kinda dry and not even hot. They were room temperature. 2 tables were served before us the only redeeming part about going here was the lady who gave us are food. Was nice and understanding when I said are previous server gave me the wrong drink and corrected it. She was nice and looked me in the eye like she did kinda care about the quality of service I’m not saying she was perfect but she was doing a good job. Overall I’d never eat at this place again. Maybe at another location but as far as my first experience...