Eleven Years
March 24, 2017 6:12 AM Subscribe
Brad is mad online and wants to know why Cracker Barrel fired his wife.
Gosh, if only there were some way for workers to protect themselves from arbitrary firings, say, by organizing themselves into a collective that could bargain for such protections... a "union", if you will. #HopeULikeYourQuoteEndquoteRight2WorkAmerica
posted by Halloween Jack at 6:18 AM on March 24, 2017 [92 favorites]
posted by Halloween Jack at 6:18 AM on March 24, 2017 [92 favorites]
Cracker Barrel. These were the geniuses who sent out a press release announcing they wouldn't hire gay people, because of the AIDS, ya know, back in the 80's, and ended up with ACT UP picketing all their restaurants.
posted by thelonius at 6:19 AM on March 24, 2017 [13 favorites]
posted by thelonius at 6:19 AM on March 24, 2017 [13 favorites]
This reminds me of Paw Paw and the burgers. Starts out as a bit of a joke, then turns surprisingly earnest. It's like the positive mirror flip of the_donald subreddit. Poe's law in action, I guess.
“We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.”
posted by leotrotsky at 6:25 AM on March 24, 2017 [7 favorites]
“We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.”
posted by leotrotsky at 6:25 AM on March 24, 2017 [7 favorites]
Did Brad ask his wife?
In the original post he says that their excuse was that she just wasn't "working out", which does indeed sound like the kind of thing they would tell an employee directly - so I'm assuming that yes, he did.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:31 AM on March 24, 2017 [4 favorites]
In the original post he says that their excuse was that she just wasn't "working out", which does indeed sound like the kind of thing they would tell an employee directly - so I'm assuming that yes, he did.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:31 AM on March 24, 2017 [4 favorites]
I hadn't heard about PawPaw. I am crying at work and planning a trip up to see my family now.
posted by domo at 6:41 AM on March 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by domo at 6:41 AM on March 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
domo, no worries
Hundreds show up for Sad Paw Paw's Massive Cookout.
posted by leotrotsky at 6:50 AM on March 24, 2017 [8 favorites]
Hundreds show up for Sad Paw Paw's Massive Cookout.
posted by leotrotsky at 6:50 AM on March 24, 2017 [8 favorites]
I've been seeing this go on on Facebook and it squicks me out. If Brad's allegations are true, then it seems that something unfair did happen with Brad's wife. But Facebook commenters picked this up as a joke, a new way to make fun of a corporation on social media. I'm happy if it works out for the Byrd family, but it's like a successful medical fundraiser: upsetting even when it does what it should.
posted by Countess Elena at 7:02 AM on March 24, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by Countess Elena at 7:02 AM on March 24, 2017 [4 favorites]
Well, if somebody is mad on the internet, it has to get posted here.
posted by Wolfdog at 7:03 AM on March 24, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by Wolfdog at 7:03 AM on March 24, 2017 [6 favorites]
Great. We'll get rid of health insurance, and people can crowdsource fundraising for their chemotherapy. Then we'll union-bust, and people can crowdsource publicly-shaming their employers for illegal labor practices. Nothing to see here, folks, just the free market hard at work. Just don't get sick or fired if you're not photogenic, or aren't a social media manager.
posted by Mayor West at 7:06 AM on March 24, 2017 [28 favorites]
posted by Mayor West at 7:06 AM on March 24, 2017 [28 favorites]
Poe's Law, indeed. While I'd like to think this could be the Brother, can you spare a dime? that finally bridges the empathy gap among social media users and generates a new sense of solidarity across the class divide, I can't help but read the whole thing as a form of classist sneering. Archly simulated empathy for the lulz, written ironically in 16 pt Comic Sanders to taunt the Trumpists. But mostly I'm bracing myself for the inevitable Jacobin article that will arise from this, reading #JusticeforBradsWife as an expression of regrettable, drive by contempt on behalf of smug, complacent professional-managerial 10%ers for those they see as having failed the meritocracy test and also a symptom of the eternally unmet demand for a form of politics centred in basic economic justice in downwardly mobile Middle America. Hell, it practically writes itself.
posted by Sonny Jim at 7:10 AM on March 24, 2017 [11 favorites]
posted by Sonny Jim at 7:10 AM on March 24, 2017 [11 favorites]
I'm pretty sure that Cracker Barrel explaining to Brad why they fired his wife would be a serious breach of privacy, so it ain't going to happen no matter how many times people tag Cracker Barrel on Twitter or Instagram.
posted by COD at 7:21 AM on March 24, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by COD at 7:21 AM on March 24, 2017 [4 favorites]
Why do I have a bad feeling that Brad's wife is a massive racist/homophobe or something awful? I mean, I hope not, and I don't want to impugn anyone and I hope she's a lovely person who's been badly treated by a faceless corporation, but I sorta have a bad feeling about how these things go.
posted by ob at 7:24 AM on March 24, 2017
posted by ob at 7:24 AM on March 24, 2017
He says that his wife's firing came from home office and not from the local store? I've never heard of such a thing.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 7:29 AM on March 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by The Underpants Monster at 7:29 AM on March 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
Why do I have a bad feeling that Brad's wife is a massive racist/homophobe or something awful?
Probably because years of living under/within ruthless capitalist ideology have generated a knee-jerk instinct to blame the victim of economic injustice for their troubles. Don't worry, it happens to everyone once in a while.
posted by Krawczak at 7:31 AM on March 24, 2017 [48 favorites]
Probably because years of living under/within ruthless capitalist ideology have generated a knee-jerk instinct to blame the victim of economic injustice for their troubles. Don't worry, it happens to everyone once in a while.
posted by Krawczak at 7:31 AM on March 24, 2017 [48 favorites]
My money's onthe company thinking she makes too much money after eleven years of Cracker Barrel raises and they want to replace her with someone cheaper.
posted by The Hamms Bear at 7:34 AM on March 24, 2017 [34 favorites]
posted by The Hamms Bear at 7:34 AM on March 24, 2017 [34 favorites]
Why do I have a bad feeling that Brad's wife is a massive racist/homophobe or something awful?
Have you heard of Cracker Barrel before? If that were the case, she would already be C-level.
posted by Etrigan at 7:41 AM on March 24, 2017 [21 favorites]
Have you heard of Cracker Barrel before? If that were the case, she would already be C-level.
posted by Etrigan at 7:41 AM on March 24, 2017 [21 favorites]
Why do I have a bad feeling that Brad's wife is a massive racist/homophobe or something awful?
As has been pointed out previously in the thread, just because Cracker Barrel sells Pentatonix records now, I'm not sure that's enough to get fired from there based on their long, bigoted history.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 7:42 AM on March 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
As has been pointed out previously in the thread, just because Cracker Barrel sells Pentatonix records now, I'm not sure that's enough to get fired from there based on their long, bigoted history.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 7:42 AM on March 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
Cracker Barrel Call Out Jinx - Etrigan owes me a delicious meal with my family that I will feel guilty eating
posted by MCMikeNamara at 7:43 AM on March 24, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by MCMikeNamara at 7:43 AM on March 24, 2017 [3 favorites]
My money's onthe company thinking she makes too much money after eleven years of Cracker Barrel raises and they want to replace her with someone cheaper.
Yep...my son had a job as a stock boy in a (unionized!) major chain grocery store and was due to get a double-barreled raise after one year service because he was also turning 18 and they had a different pay scale for minors.
They fired him the week before it was due to happen. His union paid lip service but essentially did nothing.
At least he learned a valuable lesson about corporatism.
posted by rocket88 at 7:43 AM on March 24, 2017 [3 favorites]
Yep...my son had a job as a stock boy in a (unionized!) major chain grocery store and was due to get a double-barreled raise after one year service because he was also turning 18 and they had a different pay scale for minors.
They fired him the week before it was due to happen. His union paid lip service but essentially did nothing.
At least he learned a valuable lesson about corporatism.
posted by rocket88 at 7:43 AM on March 24, 2017 [3 favorites]
Brad's wife gave me regular fries with my tuna melt and not the sweet potato ones. I told the manager. I can't help but think this is my fault.
posted by fungible at 7:48 AM on March 24, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by fungible at 7:48 AM on March 24, 2017 [5 favorites]
Have you heard of Cracker Barrel before? If that were the case, she would already be C-level.
Clearly I don't know anything about Cracker Barrel. But, to be clear, it wasn't so much about her being fired for anything like this (which, again I hasten to add, is most likely not a thing), but that often the people behind viral human interest stories are often disappointing.
posted by ob at 7:49 AM on March 24, 2017 [7 favorites]
Clearly I don't know anything about Cracker Barrel. But, to be clear, it wasn't so much about her being fired for anything like this (which, again I hasten to add, is most likely not a thing), but that often the people behind viral human interest stories are often disappointing.
posted by ob at 7:49 AM on March 24, 2017 [7 favorites]
Oh wow, jeez, so this is embarrassing. Let me explain. I'm actually Joe Crackerbarle, founder of Cracker Barrel. The reason we fired Brad's wife is that we thought it would be a good birthday prank for Brad. Now his friends are pranking us on social media. This is how we kid, it's really charming
posted by beerperson at 7:52 AM on March 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by beerperson at 7:52 AM on March 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
To be fair, I think Cracker Barrel has made big efforts to improve on human rights issues, since the 90's
posted by thelonius at 8:09 AM on March 24, 2017
posted by thelonius at 8:09 AM on March 24, 2017
Yeah, I think so too. I just have a lot of reserve 90s bitterness in the tank (though as noted, not enough to not eat their when my parents are paying)
posted by MCMikeNamara at 8:15 AM on March 24, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by MCMikeNamara at 8:15 AM on March 24, 2017 [4 favorites]
If this Cracker Barrel is located in an at-will employment state, I don't think they even need to have a reason to fire her.
posted by bwvol at 8:18 AM on March 24, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by bwvol at 8:18 AM on March 24, 2017 [3 favorites]
This has the makings of an excellent Michael Moore film.
posted by JanetLand at 8:29 AM on March 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by JanetLand at 8:29 AM on March 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
Cracker Barrel. These were the geniuses who sent out a press release announcing they wouldn't hire gay people, because of the AIDS, ya know, back in the 80's, and ended up with ACT UP picketing all their restaurants.
I'm still boycotting them. Haven't ever been in one, and plan on never going into one.
posted by hippybear at 8:30 AM on March 24, 2017 [10 favorites]
I'm still boycotting them. Haven't ever been in one, and plan on never going into one.
posted by hippybear at 8:30 AM on March 24, 2017 [10 favorites]
A modern "best practice" for many large corporations is not to provide any substantive reason for firing an employee unless compelled to do so by the EEOC or a court. Local staff often have to provide documentation as to why they want to terminate to a central HR/Legal department (who evaluate the documentation and decide what to do) and refer all communications to them. I have no idea how Cracker Barrel works, but that may explain some of what you guys are saying. Its actually a pretty good policy for a big chain, since local managers might well screw things up in an attempt to be nice (or evil). I have no idea what their policies are, but it would be a common approach for non-franchise chains.
posted by Lame_username at 8:40 AM on March 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Lame_username at 8:40 AM on March 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
I eat at Cracker Barrel from time to time. Not voluntarily mind you, but there's one at basically every major highway interchange in the Southeastern US, and on road trips my wife suddenly gets a big thing about what she apparently thinks of as comfort food and wants to eat there. *
And I have long been convinced that the staff at Cracker Barrel are actually the ghosts of the poor souls who originally owned all that weird rural bric-a-brac they have all over the walls. You can see it in their dead eyes. Some of them, you can even find them in old pictures on the walls if you look carefully. It's like you came up in the devastation after the war between the states, lost two children to tuberculosis and your wife to the fever, got flooded out in the winter of '89 and lost everything. You had a hard life and died alone. Then, a hundred years later, some marketing major from New Jersey ends up getting your plow harness in a box of old junk she bought by the pound from an antique barn in Mecklenburg County, and the next thing you know, there you are, surrounded by gas stations and a self storage place, wearing a scratchy shirt that doesn't fit, and you're spending eternity serving Country Boy Breakfasts to the bratty children of corporate relationships managers, whatever the hell that is, on their way down to visit Grandma.
So they probably let Brad's wife go because she was alive, and thus required a salary and benefits and was covered by all kinds of safety regulations and things that made her more expensive to employ.
*only on road trips, thank God, and since the arrival of the littlest Naberius, that hasn't really been an issue...
posted by Naberius at 8:44 AM on March 24, 2017 [40 favorites]
And I have long been convinced that the staff at Cracker Barrel are actually the ghosts of the poor souls who originally owned all that weird rural bric-a-brac they have all over the walls. You can see it in their dead eyes. Some of them, you can even find them in old pictures on the walls if you look carefully. It's like you came up in the devastation after the war between the states, lost two children to tuberculosis and your wife to the fever, got flooded out in the winter of '89 and lost everything. You had a hard life and died alone. Then, a hundred years later, some marketing major from New Jersey ends up getting your plow harness in a box of old junk she bought by the pound from an antique barn in Mecklenburg County, and the next thing you know, there you are, surrounded by gas stations and a self storage place, wearing a scratchy shirt that doesn't fit, and you're spending eternity serving Country Boy Breakfasts to the bratty children of corporate relationships managers, whatever the hell that is, on their way down to visit Grandma.
So they probably let Brad's wife go because she was alive, and thus required a salary and benefits and was covered by all kinds of safety regulations and things that made her more expensive to employ.
*only on road trips, thank God, and since the arrival of the littlest Naberius, that hasn't really been an issue...
posted by Naberius at 8:44 AM on March 24, 2017 [40 favorites]
I'm still boycotting them. Haven't ever been in one, and plan on never going into one.
Does it still count as boycotting if I never had any intention of--or interest in--going to Cracker Barrel in the first place?
posted by dersins at 8:50 AM on March 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
Does it still count as boycotting if I never had any intention of--or interest in--going to Cracker Barrel in the first place?
posted by dersins at 8:50 AM on March 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
And now, a dramatic reenactment of my dad's first and last trip to Cracker Barrel on a road trip.
Waitress: "What would you like to drink, sir?"
Dad: "I'll have a bud light."
W: "We don't serve alcohol here."
D: [gone at this point]
posted by ftm at 9:02 AM on March 24, 2017 [19 favorites]
Waitress: "What would you like to drink, sir?"
Dad: "I'll have a bud light."
W: "We don't serve alcohol here."
D: [gone at this point]
posted by ftm at 9:02 AM on March 24, 2017 [19 favorites]
Does it still count as boycotting if I never had any intention of--or interest in--going to Cracker Barrel in the first place?
There was that time in the early 90s when I was visiting my parents and they were going out to dinner at Cracker Barrel and I told them I wasn't going to go with them because of their policies toward gay employees, and my parents were content to leave me at their home while they went out to eat there.
That taught me a bit about my relationship with my parents, that day.
posted by hippybear at 9:21 AM on March 24, 2017 [37 favorites]
There was that time in the early 90s when I was visiting my parents and they were going out to dinner at Cracker Barrel and I told them I wasn't going to go with them because of their policies toward gay employees, and my parents were content to leave me at their home while they went out to eat there.
That taught me a bit about my relationship with my parents, that day.
posted by hippybear at 9:21 AM on March 24, 2017 [37 favorites]
My first exposure to Cracker Barrel was when one opened near my house and I didn't even understand what it was supposed to be, so I stopped and walked in the front door to find out, and was immediately overwhelmed with a gigantic, sickening cloud of fake spray potpourri smell, so turned around and ran right out before the door had closed. Only later did I learn that people EAT there amid that repulsive smell. How? Are they not all like that or something?
My second exposure to Cracker Barrel was taking my regular road trip between Denver and Albuquerque and discovering that all the little family owned diners I used to stop in on the way were gone, replaced with Fucking Cracker Barrels. Now I have to take my chances, get off the highway, and try to find something in town. This is the southwest, and it really pisses me off seeing them steamroll over the local culture like that and replace it with bland, lowest common denominator "southern" style crap. I will hate them forever for that.
Learning about their horrible corporate policies only reinforced that Cracker Barrel was my enemy.
That said, I am through caring about viral personal injustice stories on the internet. I don't need to hear about some waiter halfway across the country getting stiffed on a tip no matter what outrageous thing the customers wrote on the receipt, or some kid getting sent home from school for a terrible reason. Horrible, awful shit happens to people all the time. Horrible, awful shit is happening to almost everyone in the world right this minute.
The only thing that really interests me about Brad's wife getting fired from Cracker Barrel is that it gives me an opportunity to talk about how much I fucking hate Cracker Barrel.
Fuck off, Cracker Barrel.
posted by ernielundquist at 9:29 AM on March 24, 2017 [17 favorites]
My second exposure to Cracker Barrel was taking my regular road trip between Denver and Albuquerque and discovering that all the little family owned diners I used to stop in on the way were gone, replaced with Fucking Cracker Barrels. Now I have to take my chances, get off the highway, and try to find something in town. This is the southwest, and it really pisses me off seeing them steamroll over the local culture like that and replace it with bland, lowest common denominator "southern" style crap. I will hate them forever for that.
Learning about their horrible corporate policies only reinforced that Cracker Barrel was my enemy.
That said, I am through caring about viral personal injustice stories on the internet. I don't need to hear about some waiter halfway across the country getting stiffed on a tip no matter what outrageous thing the customers wrote on the receipt, or some kid getting sent home from school for a terrible reason. Horrible, awful shit happens to people all the time. Horrible, awful shit is happening to almost everyone in the world right this minute.
The only thing that really interests me about Brad's wife getting fired from Cracker Barrel is that it gives me an opportunity to talk about how much I fucking hate Cracker Barrel.
Fuck off, Cracker Barrel.
posted by ernielundquist at 9:29 AM on March 24, 2017 [17 favorites]
I'm still boycotting them. Haven't ever been in one, and plan on never going into one.
Yeah, I've never been in one, either. And, I count it as a small victory that my wife's family knows better than to even suggest CB as a place for us to go eat together, even though, on their own, it would one of the first places they'd go.
posted by Thorzdad at 9:37 AM on March 24, 2017
Yeah, I've never been in one, either. And, I count it as a small victory that my wife's family knows better than to even suggest CB as a place for us to go eat together, even though, on their own, it would one of the first places they'd go.
posted by Thorzdad at 9:37 AM on March 24, 2017
As a Canadian when I first discovered Cracker Barrel I was amazed and enthralled because it was every stereotype of American food. It's what "America Land" would be in Epcot Center if it wasn't already in America.
(I mean, they'll serve you what is basically apple pie filling as a dinner side dish! America!!)
posted by GuyZero at 9:45 AM on March 24, 2017 [23 favorites]
(I mean, they'll serve you what is basically apple pie filling as a dinner side dish! America!!)
posted by GuyZero at 9:45 AM on March 24, 2017 [23 favorites]
Has he considered putting up some billboards? (Video, swearing)
posted by maudlin at 9:47 AM on March 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by maudlin at 9:47 AM on March 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
I ate at a Cracker Barrel once, in like 2000, when I was on a solo road trip and had stopped over for the night somewhere in Indiana (Seymour, to be precise - according to the guidebook I had, it was the birthplace of John Mellencamp and also the home to the country's biggest Wal-Mart distribution center). I was sick of driving for the day and the Cracker Barrel was the only place within walking distance of the hotel. I wasn't thrilled about it, but the whole point of the trip was to revel in kitsch anyway, so I chalked it up to that.
I remember literally nothing of the experience except for the fact that it happened, and a vague sense at the time that my family had visited another Cracker Barrel on another occasion somewhere in New England in the 1970's, which somehow doesn't seem likely.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:49 AM on March 24, 2017
I remember literally nothing of the experience except for the fact that it happened, and a vague sense at the time that my family had visited another Cracker Barrel on another occasion somewhere in New England in the 1970's, which somehow doesn't seem likely.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:49 AM on March 24, 2017
Naberius, I'm flat not kidding when I say I am here for a horror/fantasy anthology about major corporate chains on American highways. I've actually been thinking of this. If someone has not got on that, I suppose I better
posted by Countess Elena at 9:57 AM on March 24, 2017 [12 favorites]
posted by Countess Elena at 9:57 AM on March 24, 2017 [12 favorites]
As a Canadian when I first discovered Cracker Barrel I was amazed and enthralled because it was every stereotype of American food. It's what "America Land" would be in Epcot Center if it wasn't already in America.
This is the truest statement the internet has ever produced. I love it so much.
posted by DingoMutt at 10:00 AM on March 24, 2017 [17 favorites]
This is the truest statement the internet has ever produced. I love it so much.
posted by DingoMutt at 10:00 AM on March 24, 2017 [17 favorites]
I'd completely forgotten that I went to a Cracker Barrel somewhere in either Georgia, Tennessee or Florida, on my one and only trip overseas.
I had chicken fried steak and was unhappy that it tasted like neither chicken nor steak. The grits were pretty gritty though.
posted by h00py at 10:01 AM on March 24, 2017
I had chicken fried steak and was unhappy that it tasted like neither chicken nor steak. The grits were pretty gritty though.
posted by h00py at 10:01 AM on March 24, 2017
I've driven across this great country of ours countless times, and have never once stopped at a Cracker Barrel. Why? Because it's called Cracker Barrel. It sounds like a place where you'd read over the entire menu and lose hope for the human race, at least the American part.
posted by kozad at 10:19 AM on March 24, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by kozad at 10:19 AM on March 24, 2017 [3 favorites]
I've driven across this great country of ours countless times, and have never once stopped at a Cracker Barrel.
Cracker Barrel is one of the best parts about driving cross-country. The food is good, in its ersatz down-home way.
And if that makes you lose hope for the human race, well, WAI I guess.
posted by GuyZero at 10:40 AM on March 24, 2017 [4 favorites]
Cracker Barrel is one of the best parts about driving cross-country. The food is good, in its ersatz down-home way.
And if that makes you lose hope for the human race, well, WAI I guess.
posted by GuyZero at 10:40 AM on March 24, 2017 [4 favorites]
Cracker Barrel is one of the best parts about driving cross-country. The food is good, in its ersatz down-home way.
Totes. For anyone driving long distances on the highway they are a welcome sight. They're far better than IHOP or Bob Evans. They have really good pancakes. Also biscuits and hash brown casserole. They serve grits with literally every breakfast. They even have apple butter, if you ask for it. They have chocolate cake made with coca cola. They replaced their 100% maple syrup, true, but they kept it longer than any other chain out there. Even the replacement isn't just the cheap stuff, it's still about 40% maple.
posted by leotrotsky at 10:52 AM on March 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
Totes. For anyone driving long distances on the highway they are a welcome sight. They're far better than IHOP or Bob Evans. They have really good pancakes. Also biscuits and hash brown casserole. They serve grits with literally every breakfast. They even have apple butter, if you ask for it. They have chocolate cake made with coca cola. They replaced their 100% maple syrup, true, but they kept it longer than any other chain out there. Even the replacement isn't just the cheap stuff, it's still about 40% maple.
posted by leotrotsky at 10:52 AM on March 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
Imaginary-voice casting Liam Neeson as Brad now.
posted by mobunited at 11:05 AM on March 24, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by mobunited at 11:05 AM on March 24, 2017 [4 favorites]
CRACKER BARREL BREAKFAST TIP:
"The Sunday Sampler"* has hash brown casserole AND fried apples, while all the other breakfast combos merely offer hash brown casserole OR fried apples. Also, you can totally ask for more biscuits and they will bring them to you forever at no charge.**
*This may be the wrong name
** Please do not abuse this knowledge when they are busy, your server needs to turn tables to make a living
posted by BitterOldPunk at 11:12 AM on March 24, 2017 [5 favorites]
"The Sunday Sampler"* has hash brown casserole AND fried apples, while all the other breakfast combos merely offer hash brown casserole OR fried apples. Also, you can totally ask for more biscuits and they will bring them to you forever at no charge.**
*This may be the wrong name
** Please do not abuse this knowledge when they are busy, your server needs to turn tables to make a living
posted by BitterOldPunk at 11:12 AM on March 24, 2017 [5 favorites]
It's the Sunrise Sampler.
I'm driving cross-country again in a month and now y'all are making me hungry.
posted by GuyZero at 11:30 AM on March 24, 2017 [3 favorites]
I'm driving cross-country again in a month and now y'all are making me hungry.
posted by GuyZero at 11:30 AM on March 24, 2017 [3 favorites]
I've eaten in a Cracker Barrel exactly once, on a road trip, somewhere in Iowa or Nebraska. I had pancakes with blackberry sauce that tasted as if they'd been saturated in Crisco before cooking. Every time I think of Cracker Barrel the memory of those pancakes makes me gag, as does the memory of the pulled pork on white wonderbread my husband ordered.
I'm not a food snob, but never again. Not to mention that large amounts of country kitsch--particularly corporately-mandated country kitsch--makes me run screaming.
That said, what happened to this woman, whoever she is, really sucks. There's likely some really good reason she's been working at this Cracker Barrel for 11 years, and now her life is that much harder. I'm guessing it was some combination of ageism, sexism, and maybe even lookism (i.e., maybe she wasn't Barbie-doll attractive enough for the manager's tastes, especially if she was on the older side).
posted by tully_monster at 11:31 AM on March 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
I'm not a food snob, but never again. Not to mention that large amounts of country kitsch--particularly corporately-mandated country kitsch--makes me run screaming.
That said, what happened to this woman, whoever she is, really sucks. There's likely some really good reason she's been working at this Cracker Barrel for 11 years, and now her life is that much harder. I'm guessing it was some combination of ageism, sexism, and maybe even lookism (i.e., maybe she wasn't Barbie-doll attractive enough for the manager's tastes, especially if she was on the older side).
posted by tully_monster at 11:31 AM on March 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
m guessing it was some combination of ageism, sexism, and maybe even lookism (i.e., maybe she wasn't Barbie-doll attractive enough for the manager's tastes, especially if she was on the older side).
The reason was a lack of labour protection laws.
posted by GuyZero at 11:33 AM on March 24, 2017 [7 favorites]
The reason was a lack of labour protection laws.
posted by GuyZero at 11:33 AM on March 24, 2017 [7 favorites]
The reason was a lack of labour protection laws.
Um, yes, which protect people (particularly women) from the things I listed above. Thanks for telling me what I already know!
posted by tully_monster at 11:36 AM on March 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
Um, yes, which protect people (particularly women) from the things I listed above. Thanks for telling me what I already know!
posted by tully_monster at 11:36 AM on March 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
As a Canadian when I first discovered Cracker Barrel I was amazed and enthralled because it was every stereotype of American food. It's what "America Land" would be in Epcot Center if it wasn't already in America.
There is an American Pavilion in Epcot, and it has a restaurant... that sells burgers, hot dogs, and chicken nuggets at inflated prices. Eating at Cracker Barrel is the better option.
posted by Badgermann at 11:57 AM on March 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
There is an American Pavilion in Epcot, and it has a restaurant... that sells burgers, hot dogs, and chicken nuggets at inflated prices. Eating at Cracker Barrel is the better option.
posted by Badgermann at 11:57 AM on March 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
The last time I ate at Cracker Barrel I threw up my meal moments after we walked back to our motel room. It was my 2nd and final visit. On the bright side I petted a sweet collie at the motel so it kinda evened things up for me.
posted by RichardHenryYarbo at 12:31 PM on March 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by RichardHenryYarbo at 12:31 PM on March 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
I heard the Cracker Barrel Boss was working late one night when the Spirit of Pleasing People appeared and moaned "BRAAAD'S WIIIIFE MUST GOOOOOOOO!"
posted by straight at 12:36 PM on March 24, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by straight at 12:36 PM on March 24, 2017 [3 favorites]
There was that time in the early 90s when I was visiting my parents and they were going out to dinner at Cracker Barrel and I told them I wasn't going to go with them because of their policies toward gay employees, and my parents were content to leave me at their home while they went out to eat there.
Huh, so like Chik-Fil-A then--I have similar resentful feelings towards them and know a lot of folks my age who do, and of course lots of us have similar stories about parents and friends treating those feelings with.... varying levels of respect, let's say. I'd never heard of the 90s Cracker Barrel stuff, though I had of course heard about the racism.
I flinch at any company that plays the folksy/Christian welcome image that hard, mind, because... well, it winds up feeling super fucking paternalistic. So far if I wait long enough, every company that's ever given me that vibe turns out to screw with its employees (or, often, the rest of us via funding terrifying hate groups) based on its own beliefs even worse than the ones run by money-worshiping amoral capitalists. At least the amoral capitalists are honest about it. It makes me sort of sad, because those are often the same companies that make a huge deal about making sure their workers get access to time off and things and insist they care about their workers, but so far those protections never seem to extend to all their workers.... just the ones who share something in common with the CEO's family.
It's a shame, because the few corporations that I am aware of which do seem committed to doing good things for everyone are extremely quiet about it when they do. I do the bulk of my grocery shopping at a Texan chain whose owners habitually invest huge amounts of money into increasing Texas public educational quality, especially in poor areas, make store policy decisions based in part on the needs of SNAP programs (like chilling some rotissierie chickens so anyone can afford them even if they're on SNAP) and who take care of their employees to an extent I've never seen in retail--and I didn't have any idea about half of it until my roomie got a job there.
Part of me is kind of like "well good," because I believe that corporations in general are fundamentally amoral and disinterested in anything that doesn't tie into profits, and that we should not as a rule expect them do do anything for the public good that doesn't also do something for their bottom line. But part of me also wants to know what corporations are genuinely doing a bit of good, and I find that the ones that I feel better about when I dig into them are generally not the ones advertising their commitment to goodness.
posted by sciatrix at 12:42 PM on March 24, 2017 [7 favorites]
Huh, so like Chik-Fil-A then--I have similar resentful feelings towards them and know a lot of folks my age who do, and of course lots of us have similar stories about parents and friends treating those feelings with.... varying levels of respect, let's say. I'd never heard of the 90s Cracker Barrel stuff, though I had of course heard about the racism.
I flinch at any company that plays the folksy/Christian welcome image that hard, mind, because... well, it winds up feeling super fucking paternalistic. So far if I wait long enough, every company that's ever given me that vibe turns out to screw with its employees (or, often, the rest of us via funding terrifying hate groups) based on its own beliefs even worse than the ones run by money-worshiping amoral capitalists. At least the amoral capitalists are honest about it. It makes me sort of sad, because those are often the same companies that make a huge deal about making sure their workers get access to time off and things and insist they care about their workers, but so far those protections never seem to extend to all their workers.... just the ones who share something in common with the CEO's family.
It's a shame, because the few corporations that I am aware of which do seem committed to doing good things for everyone are extremely quiet about it when they do. I do the bulk of my grocery shopping at a Texan chain whose owners habitually invest huge amounts of money into increasing Texas public educational quality, especially in poor areas, make store policy decisions based in part on the needs of SNAP programs (like chilling some rotissierie chickens so anyone can afford them even if they're on SNAP) and who take care of their employees to an extent I've never seen in retail--and I didn't have any idea about half of it until my roomie got a job there.
Part of me is kind of like "well good," because I believe that corporations in general are fundamentally amoral and disinterested in anything that doesn't tie into profits, and that we should not as a rule expect them do do anything for the public good that doesn't also do something for their bottom line. But part of me also wants to know what corporations are genuinely doing a bit of good, and I find that the ones that I feel better about when I dig into them are generally not the ones advertising their commitment to goodness.
posted by sciatrix at 12:42 PM on March 24, 2017 [7 favorites]
Damn, publicly traded even - CBRL; and a spiffy 2.86% dividend. Judging from the charts; the place seems to profit from human (employee and customer/potential customer) disservice.
Stay classy CBRL; stay classy. Because whatever they seem to poorly do; it does seem to be good for the shareholders. :/
posted by buzzman at 1:46 PM on March 24, 2017
Stay classy CBRL; stay classy. Because whatever they seem to poorly do; it does seem to be good for the shareholders. :/
posted by buzzman at 1:46 PM on March 24, 2017
For years I thought all they served was cheese and crackers.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 1:52 PM on March 24, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by The Underpants Monster at 1:52 PM on March 24, 2017 [10 favorites]
It's corporate food when you come right down to it, but before we started boycotting them over HIV/homophobia, CB was sometimes the least of fast food evils on road trips, considering you could actually get vegetables. If there wasn't something actually local you could at least get greens and fried okra.
But while I think folks should eat whatever they want/need to, etc, count me vaguely amused at the social media messing with them--they either deserve it or they really deserve it...
posted by Mngo at 5:39 PM on March 24, 2017
But while I think folks should eat whatever they want/need to, etc, count me vaguely amused at the social media messing with them--they either deserve it or they really deserve it...
posted by Mngo at 5:39 PM on March 24, 2017
It was a Cracker Barrel. I had fallen asleep on the bed in my tiny motel room, and when I woke up, I was in a Cracker Barrel. I ordered biscuits and gravy. The coffee was weak. The waitress was blonde. I tried to remember how I had gotten there.
There had been the Stuckey's, outside of Barstow, and the IHOP, north of WInslow. For some reason, I kept waking up in corporate roadside eateries. I slid out of the booth and stumbled towards the door. The wide front porch with rocking chairs lined up at attention yawned at me; I lit a cigarette.
A low moaning caught my attention, an older couple, easing up the steps, grey rubber walker feet thudding against the wooden front steps. A wave of nausea overtook me and I stumbled past them, gravel crunching underfoot, tinfoil gum wrappers winking in the bright sunlight. The moaning got louder and I glanced back, I could see something, a shape, slouching in the shadow of the man in his K-Mart windbreaker with the red cap helped along by his frizzy-haired wife. It moved with them as they slowly made their way up the steps. There was a rainbow of color, like an oil slick, an aura of putrescence that seemed to envelope them. The sound of cicadas seemed to get louder and I glanced towards the highway, cars coming and going, Cincinnati to Nashville, Tacoma to Fort Worth. His wife helped him along and I glimpsed something, a claw, or a disfigured hand, pushing him forward. I closed my eyes and the noise of the cicadas seemed to increase
posted by valkane at 6:27 PM on March 24, 2017 [17 favorites]
There had been the Stuckey's, outside of Barstow, and the IHOP, north of WInslow. For some reason, I kept waking up in corporate roadside eateries. I slid out of the booth and stumbled towards the door. The wide front porch with rocking chairs lined up at attention yawned at me; I lit a cigarette.
A low moaning caught my attention, an older couple, easing up the steps, grey rubber walker feet thudding against the wooden front steps. A wave of nausea overtook me and I stumbled past them, gravel crunching underfoot, tinfoil gum wrappers winking in the bright sunlight. The moaning got louder and I glanced back, I could see something, a shape, slouching in the shadow of the man in his K-Mart windbreaker with the red cap helped along by his frizzy-haired wife. It moved with them as they slowly made their way up the steps. There was a rainbow of color, like an oil slick, an aura of putrescence that seemed to envelope them. The sound of cicadas seemed to get louder and I glanced towards the highway, cars coming and going, Cincinnati to Nashville, Tacoma to Fort Worth. His wife helped him along and I glimpsed something, a claw, or a disfigured hand, pushing him forward. I closed my eyes and the noise of the cicadas seemed to increase
posted by valkane at 6:27 PM on March 24, 2017 [17 favorites]
Indiana is an at-will employment state. And it doesn't have an exemption, as a handful of states do, requiring just cause to fire someone. Unless Brad and Nannette can somehow get Cracker Barrel to admit that they fired her because she is part of a federally-protected class (like, maybe she's over 40 and they fired her because her ass wasn't as firm as it used to be when she was younger?), they don't have a legal leg to stand on.
posted by nirblegee at 6:36 PM on March 24, 2017
posted by nirblegee at 6:36 PM on March 24, 2017
When are auditions for valkane's production of Lovecraft in California?
posted by The Underpants Monster at 6:58 PM on March 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by The Underpants Monster at 6:58 PM on March 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
I feel like all of the descriptions of the franchises I'm reading here could be put in a time capsule for use by the next generation as they try to describe going to Hard Rock Cafes all over the world with their dreadfully uncool parents who never figured out that it's a CHAIN ffs and so there's nothing to be gained from visiting the one in Milan if you've already been to the one in the Mall of America
posted by janey47 at 6:58 PM on March 24, 2017
posted by janey47 at 6:58 PM on March 24, 2017
Y'all need bigger gas tanks or stronger bladders!
I get 650 miles out of a tank, we're not stopping for nothin', not even buttermilk biscuits with all the butter you can eat.
posted by madajb at 7:01 PM on March 24, 2017
I get 650 miles out of a tank, we're not stopping for nothin', not even buttermilk biscuits with all the butter you can eat.
posted by madajb at 7:01 PM on March 24, 2017
But the one at the Mall of America doesn't sell Hard Rock Cafe Milan shirts.
posted by ckape at 7:01 PM on March 24, 2017
posted by ckape at 7:01 PM on March 24, 2017
The part that jumped out at me was working 50-60 hour weeks, since my old kitchen manager hated paying overtime and would at most schedule 39 hour weeks.
posted by ckape at 7:06 PM on March 24, 2017
posted by ckape at 7:06 PM on March 24, 2017
My 50is yo sister calls it Cwacker Barrow because her alliteration and humor is infantile.
posted by waving at 10:07 PM on March 24, 2017
posted by waving at 10:07 PM on March 24, 2017
My theory is that Brad's wife had a customer who wanted to order one of their pine rosin baked potatoes* and she talked the kitchen into actually making a batch even though Cracker Barrel stopped making those chain wide over a decade ago (maybe even over two decades at this point, I don't know exactly when they stopped). They let her go because they want to send a message to all the other locations to not do this; headquarters doesn't want to assume the liability risk associated with that menu item.
* Image is from a Rosin Potato from a different restaurant, had it been from Cracker Barrel, it would have been wrapped in one of their brown paper menus instead of plain brown paper. The boiling rosin fuses the paper to the potato skin as a reminder that you're not supposed to eat the skin.
posted by radwolf76 at 10:44 PM on March 24, 2017
* Image is from a Rosin Potato from a different restaurant, had it been from Cracker Barrel, it would have been wrapped in one of their brown paper menus instead of plain brown paper. The boiling rosin fuses the paper to the potato skin as a reminder that you're not supposed to eat the skin.
posted by radwolf76 at 10:44 PM on March 24, 2017
maybe she's over 40 and they fired her because her ass wasn't as firm as it used to be when she was younger?
Have you ever been to Cracker Barrel? I don't think you're allowed to work there unless you're over 45. Minimum.
I hate to say this but having waitressed at a lot of shitty diners in my time I suspect Brad's wife may not be entirely innocent in all this. It's pretty damn hard to get fired from a minimum wage waitressing job at a diner, especially if you're one of the old guard. Owners, managers and customers come and go, middle aged waitresses stay for ever.
posted by fshgrl at 10:56 PM on March 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
Have you ever been to Cracker Barrel? I don't think you're allowed to work there unless you're over 45. Minimum.
I hate to say this but having waitressed at a lot of shitty diners in my time I suspect Brad's wife may not be entirely innocent in all this. It's pretty damn hard to get fired from a minimum wage waitressing job at a diner, especially if you're one of the old guard. Owners, managers and customers come and go, middle aged waitresses stay for ever.
posted by fshgrl at 10:56 PM on March 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
« Older A Fictive Flight Above Real Mars | "Can you go and get mummy?" Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by waving at 6:15 AM on March 24, 2017 [22 favorites]