Cracker Barrel Just Released 6 Exciting New Menu Items
Back in March, Cracker Barrel rolled out an enticing selection of new foods and beverages to celebrate the start of spring. Now, the country-themed chain has another new collection of limited-time options hitting menus just in time for summer.
Cracker Barrel just released six new seasonal menu items that will be available through Aug. 4, giving customers the opportunity to enjoy them through most of the hot season. Among the additions are the new Bee Sting Chicken Tenders (820 calories), which are hand-breaded and coated in a new sweet-heat honey glaze. Starting at $12.99, the dish comes with the customer's choice of two country sides and hand-rolled buttermilk biscuits (640 calories per four-piece order) or corn muffins (640 calories per four-piece order).
That new sweet-heat honey glaze is also drizzled atop Cracker Barrel's new Bee Sting Chicken Sandwich (940 calories), which comes with a hand-breaded piece of chicken, pickles, mayo, and a side of seasoned steak fries (340 calories). Prices for the menu item will start at $11.99.
Both of the new Bee Sting items feature the sweet and spicy flavors that have become increasingly trendy in the restaurant world over the past year. Shake Shack, for example, launched a new Korean Style Fried Chicken sandwich (600 calories) with a sweet and spicy gochujang glaze in January. Starbucks also debuted a new line of Spicy Lemonade Refreshers (calories vary by drink) last month.
"Cracker Barrel is sweetening the heat this summer with our take on the 'swicy' trend," Julia Perry, Cracker Barrel's vice president of marketing communications, said in a statement. "Our new Bee Sting Chicken Tenders and Bee Sting Chicken Sandwich gives taste buds a sweet heat kick from our house-made blend of seven flavors including honey, buffalo, and smoky southern seasonings."
Even if sweet and spicy flavors aren't your thing, you might still find something that suits your tastes on the rest of Cracker Barrel's summer menu. On the beverage side, the chain just introduced a new Watermelon Lemonade (270 calories) and a Watermelon Spritzer. The former is a combination of Cracker Barrel's signature lemonade and watermelon puree. The beverage starts at $3.49, and as a bonus, customers can enjoy bottomless refills.
Meanwhile, the new spritzer features watermelon puree, Roscato Moscato wine, and a splash of Sprite. Prices for the beverage start at $6.99. Cracker Barrel also just started offering pitchers of its popular mimosas for sharing.
The final new summer item at Cracker Barrel is a 10-ounce New York Strip Steak (470 calories) served with a savory garlic butter sauce, two country sides, and buttermilk biscuits or corn muffins. Cracker Barrel didn't provide pricing details for the meal in its announcement, but a location near me in central New Jersey has it for $19.49.
Customers can also order the New York Strip Steak as part of several combo meals, including the New York Strip Steak n' Eggs (620 calories), New York Strip Steak n' Chicken Combo (770 calories), and the New York Strip Steak n' Shrimp Combo (870 calories).
The summer menu launch comes on the heels of a difficult year for the chain. Cracker Barrel has reported declines in customer traffic in each of the last few quarters, attributing the dropoff to factors like insufficient marketing, needed improvements in the guest experience, and a pullback on consumer spending amid inflation.
During a February earnings call, CEO Julie Felss Masino outlined a "strategic transformation" program to improve Cracker Barrel's performance. Cracker Barrel has been testing changes to the interior design of its restaurants as part of this initiative, as well as testing a revamped core menu in select stores, Masino said. The company also hopes to drive traffic through its new loyalty program that launched in September, and by improving store operations for a better customer experience, she added.
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