The chain sold the Maple Street trademark and assets at 35 locations to Biscuit Belly and will close the remaining 16 outlets
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Cracker Barrel announced two strategic actions on Monday: the sale of its Maple Street Biscuit Company business and a sale-leaseback transaction covering 26 of its restaurant locations, moves the company said would sharpen its focus on the core brand and reduce debt.
Cracker Barrel transferred the Maple Street Biscuit Company trademark and associated assets at 35 restaurants to Biscuit Belly, LLC. The remaining 16 Maple Street locations will close. Maple Street contributed less than 2% of Cracker Barrel's annual revenue, and the divestiture is expected to improve adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization beginning in fiscal 2027, the company said. In connection with the transaction, Cracker Barrel anticipates non-cash charges in the range of $37 million to $39 million during its current fiscal fourth quarter, plus cash charges of $6 million to $8 million, with a portion of those costs carrying over into fiscal 2027.
The sale-leaseback deal with an institutional real estate investor brought in roughly $77 million in net proceeds, which Cracker Barrel said it plans to apply to paying down debt. The deal also allows the company to use capital loss carryforwards that would otherwise have expired.
"Divesting Maple Street sharpens our focus on the core Cracker Barrel brand and is expected to improve profitability," President and Chief Executive Officer Julie Masino said in a statement. "Combined with our improved fiscal 2026 outlook and reduced leverage, these actions demonstrate the progress we are making against our strategic priorities."
Cracker Barrel now projects it will hit or top the upper bound of its fiscal 2026 revenue guidance while also beating its adjusted EBITDA target. The company's fiscal year ends July 31. It had previously projected total revenue of $3.27 billion to $3.30 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $120 million to $125 million. In the first 11 weeks of the fiscal fourth quarter, restaurant same-store sales were down roughly 2.5% while retail same-store sales edged up about 0.5% compared with the year-earlier period.
Cracker Barrel stock jumped 9% to $58.20 in after-hours trading on Monday.
Biscuit Belly, a Louisville, Kentucky-based biscuit sandwich concept, said it intends to rebrand the acquired Maple Street outlets under its own name over an 18-to-24-month window, according to a Biscuit Belly press release. The company said the acquisition would bring its total unit count to more than 60 locations by the end of 2028.
Cracker Barrel reported third-quarter results in June that exceeded analyst expectations and raised its full-year forecast, with adjusted EBITDA guidance climbing to $120 million to $125 million from a prior range of $85 million to $100 million. The company cited a corporate restructuring completed in the second quarter as a contributor to that performance, projecting it would trim general and administrative costs by $20 million to $25 million on an annualized basis. Monday's announcement builds on that updated outlook, with Cracker Barrel now projecting it will exceed even those revised targets.
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