Cracker Barrel Old Country Store — Restaurant in Southern Pines

My wife and I went to a program at a local school at 6 pm. After the program, we decided to go to Cracker Barrel for dinner. When we got there about 7:10 pm, it was busier than we had anticipated. The hostess said it would be about a 20 minute wait. We were pleasantly surprised that we were seated after about 10 minutes. After only a few minutes at the table, the waitress told us she would be with us in a minute, which we appreciated. We could see she was busy. A few minutes more, and she came to take our drink orders, which we gave her. But we also told her we knew what we wanted, and she took our food orders, as well - probably Cracker Barrel’s main staple, Chicken and Dumplings for my wife - and I asked for the Thursday special, Turkey and dressing. We got our drinks and some biscuits within a reasonable amount of time. However, we seemed to be waiting a long time for our food and watched as other people around us got their food. However, they were there before us, so we waited patiently. Over the next 50 minutes, the waitress came to our table four or five times to apologize for the wait. One of those times, she said the kitchen was trying to get food out for a large party on the other side. We also watched as other tables got food, ate and left. At that point, however, I was ready to leave, but my wife wanted to stay. After a good 50 minutes after we had ordered our food, the waitress said the Chicken and Dumplings were the issue. She said they were making more now. I asked how much longer, and she said maybe five minutes. Let me say the waitress was doing all she could and was trying to keep us informed. I think because of the waitress trying to look out for us, she finally brought out the shift manager - this is a full hour after we placed our order. The shift manager apologized, made an excuse about new staff in the kitchen, etc. I told her we wouldn’t have minded if someone had just said the food wasn’t available. We would gladly have ordered something else. My wife told the shift manager she’d gladly order something else rather than wait for the chicken and dumplings. The shift manager asked us to wait, and she’d see what was available in the kitchen. Shouldn’t almost anything on the menu be available? She came back and said they do have chicken and dumplings, but they did not have the turkey and dressing. Couldn’t someone have told us this an hour ago? My wife looks at me and asks if I’d be ok with the chicken and dumplings then. I said sure. Then the shift manager said, but we only have enough for one person. My wife and I both at the same time got up and said we’re leaving and walked out. NEVER again will we go to this Cracker Barrel! I’ve never had a problem with any Cracker Barrel I’ve ever been in except this one. We’ve had less than satisfactory experiences there before, but this is by far the worst experience we’ve ever had here or in ANY restaurant for...

Never have I ever been to a restaurant that makes you wait 2 hours before even starting the process of cooking your food! This past Sunday, November 19, 2023, my aunt and uncle celebrated their birthdays at the Cracker Barrel in Aberdeen/Southern Pines North Carolina. We arrived just before 4 PM and we're seated. There was a group of about 20 people in total with the majority of the group at the beginning. The waiter was pleasant and began taking drink and food orders right away. The problem came when nearly 2 hours elapsed and there was no food. Several member of the party are diabetic and had taken their medication just after ordering, thinking the food would be our shortly; however, after the ridiculously long wait a manger was spoken with and said that it was the company's policy to make everyone in the dinning party wait until all members had arrived and ordered before making anyone's food and that the orders were being made at the time of the conversation. After another 15-20 minute wait the food finally arrived at the table. Most of it was hot, but some of the sides were stone cold. Nonetheless, we all ate since by this time everyone was ravenous.the young man who served us was very nice and we heard several members of the wait staff saying that it was the manager's decision to make all the orders at the same time. It was absolutely ridiculous to sit in a restaurant and watch multiple people walk in, be seated, order, eat and leave before you have even been served over a more than 2 hour period. When confronted about the wait time and service, the manager kept insisting that it was their policy and nothing could be done. Finally, she did agree to cover my bill, but did nothing in the way of compensation for anyone else in the dinning party. We gather once a month to celebrate birthdays as a family and we have never encountered any issues like this at any of the other restaurants we have eaten in Moore County. This Cracker Barrel will never have to worry about our family choosing that location as a gathering place ever again and considering the average ticket was roughly $20 a person, ot is their loss. Don't get me wrong, the server was a very nice young man and I know he was only following the directions given him by the management. However, having had worked in restaurant management, I know this is not how you treat customers if you want them to return or run a successful business. If I could give 0...

We waited well over 5 minutes to be seated. Our hostess was very personable but as soon as you walked into the dining room, you could tell that they were severely understaffed. We waited another 5 minutes for our waitress and you could tell that the poor lady was being ran ragged. She was very nice and apologized for the wait and said she would be right with us. We didn't see her for another 15 minutes and for both sections of the dining room, I think there were maybe 4 servers, with only a handful of empty tables. I want to acknowledge that I understand this is a management issue and of no fault of the waitstaff. We finally saw her again and placed our orders. I had a peach tea and it was wonderful, I highly recommend it. We waited almost 30 minutes for our food. My mother ordered pancakes and they were great, my partner had a chicken BLT and his food was great. I ordered mashed potatoes, hash brown casserole, and a side of fruit. My food was lukewarm at best. The butter I put into my mashed potatoes refused to melt. The portions were quite small (the fruit bowl consisted of 2 strawberries sliced in half and 3 tidbits of pineapple) but everything was great, especially the hash brown casserole. We didn't get drink refills until the end of our meal and by then, the crowd was slowly starting to thin out. We asked our waitress twice for extra napkins and butter, she said she would be right back. We finally flagged down another server for napkins. Our waitress was nothing but sweet and apologetic. The other server who brought our napkins asked how my partner liked his sandwich and was also very sweet. The woman who was at the register was nice. All in all, our experience was probably not spectacular due to the insane volume of people the restaurant received and how understaffed they were. You could sense the staff was stressed but they nonetheless gave great customer service. I'll return but definitely not during the Friday lunchtime rush. The management needs to schedule more people during hours like those...