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    Cracker Barrel founder Dan Evins dies

    Associated Press – Mon, Jan 16, 2012

    LEBANON, Tenn. (AP) — The founder of the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store chain, Dan Evins, has died at 76.

    The company said Monday that Evins — known as Danny — died Saturday in Lebanon, Tenn. No cause of death was given.

    Evins opened his first restaurant in Lebanon, Tenn., in 1969. The restaurant catered to highway travelers and focused on offering Southern hospitality, country-style cooking and an associated gift shop that came to define the chain.

    He fashioned the restaurant after the country stores of his youth in rural Tennessee and used a number of family recipes. The restaurant was named after the practice of customers gathering at country stores to share news and play checkers on top of an empty barrel that had been used to deliver crackers to the store.

    Evins helped build the chain into a national brand as CEO from 1969 to 2001 and chairman until he retired in 2004. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc., headquartered in Lebanon, Tenn., now operates more than 600 restaurants in 42 states.

    "Danny was a straight-shooter and dedicated to authenticity. It was an honor and a responsibility that I took seriously to follow Danny as CEO, and then as chairman when he retired." Cracker Barrel Executive Chairman Michael Woodhouse said in a statement. "Danny was the keeper of this special brand for so many, many years, and he left us with a strong culture that values quality and honesty. He will be missed deeply."

    Survivors include five children. A private funeral service was being planned.

     
    • Disgusted
      Disgusted  •  4 mths ago
      My grandparents always stopped at the Cracker Barrel in Lebanon, KY, when they were headed for Florida. Dan Evins will be missed, he started a great chain of restaurants.
      • valentine
        valentine 4 mths ago
        lebanon kentucky is different from lebanon tennassee right?
      • LaTwanna
        LaTwanna 4 mths ago
        Law-a-mercy! My granddady was a drag queen who use to work at the Peek-a-Boo drag club in on route 5 in Tennesee. He was not alllowed to eat there!
      • Disgusted
        Disgusted 4 mths ago
        Sorry, I meant to write Lebanon, Tenn. There is a Lebanon, Indiana, also.
    • Douglas
      Douglas  •  Lincolnshire, Illinois  •  4 mths ago
      Mmmmmm.... Hash-brown casserole.
      • C
        C 4 mths ago
        Mmmmmmm....if Homer Simpson were to have ever invented a food, this would be it.......
    • Petercha
      Petercha  •  4 mths ago
      My precious wife (who is black) and I have eaten at Cracker Barrel many, many times. Plus we often brought my in-laws there. I've seen black waiters/waitresses there. All these statements about the place being racist are out-and-out lies.
    • Tom
      Tom  •  Phoenix, Arizona  •  4 mths ago
      Love Cracker Barrel!. Being a Southern boy living in the west It is always a bit of home.Been to about 25 stores as we travel the summer in our RV. They are always welcoming. We pulled in late one night after they closed and parked in the RV parking area their stores provide. Got woke up next morning at 6:00am, thought I was being told to move, instead it was the manager bringing us two large cups of coffee and a breakfast menu!! Got to love that. I hope they are around for years more.
      • Sandi
        Sandi 4 mths ago
        Wow! Now that's customer service! I love the place to begin with, but your story sealed the deal for me!
      • RC
        RC 4 mths ago
        Great customer service, maybe? A darn good salesman surely.
      • A Yahoo! User 4 mths ago
        Love that cracker barrel...
    • Anonymous
      Anonymous  •  St Petersburg, Florida  •  4 mths ago
      First time I ate at a cracker barrel was when I move to Orlando Fl and went back every time I wanted some food southern food. RIP Dan Evins I will continue to support Cracker Barrel
    • Kat B
      Kat B  •  San Antonio, Texas  •  4 mths ago
      Love CB! God bless his family at this time..
      • Cole
        Cole 4 mths ago
        dont take much for you to like something then
      • Leslie
        Leslie 4 mths ago
        cole you are a true jerk, if Kat B likes CB, what is it to you? Do us all a favor and stay up there in canada and eat the crappy food up there if you don't like our food. You will not be missed.
    • Pittsburgh Pat
      Pittsburgh Pat  •  4 mths ago
      Cracker Barrel isn't a racist term, you bunch of pseudo-intellectuals. It's how crackers were transported. It has nothing to do with foremen on plantations whuppin' yo po #$%$ great grandfather fo not pickin cotton fast enough. Morons.
    • Pittsburgh Pat
      Pittsburgh Pat  •  4 mths ago
      Better than Stuckey's or HoJo's any day.
    • Matthew
      Matthew  •  Bowling Green, Ohio  •  4 mths ago
      A charitable restaurant...always enjoyed the golf-tee solitaire and that old Southern style feeling of the Old West....really loved this restaurant growing up, and it's classic American small-town theme. RIP to the founder, a good restaurant.
    • Carnegie Hill
      Carnegie Hill  •  New York, New York  •  4 mths ago
      I wonder how many rockers they sell, because I've yet to see somebody actually walking off with one.
    • Rent To High
      Rent To High  •  Dallas, Texas  •  4 mths ago
      Well Bless his heart, he was a success for America Business man. Not many can boost what he did.
    • Jammie Jennings
      Jammie Jennings  •  Houston, Texas  •  4 mths ago
      Sad news for the family. The Cracker Barrel restaurants in the Houston area are not that good. The food is bland and the service is horrible. I think Corporate needs to pay a surprise visit and get these places up to their reputation. The gravy for bisquits taste like uncooked flour and the chicken fried steak doesn't come close to even the most mediocre in the Houston area.
    • Pittsburgh Pat
      Pittsburgh Pat  •  4 mths ago
      Mmm--chicken fried steak with dumplings and corn bread. Don't forget the mashed taters and gravy! Apple crisp for 2 for desert!
    • Matthew
      Matthew  •  Bowling Green, Ohio  •  4 mths ago
      As a child I always loved going there with my family and grandparents. Loved the snacks and the gift store, always gave me that old Wild West feeling. And loved the golf-tee game on every table, and the food. Thanks for a great store sir, and a memorable experience that will always be distinctly American. RIP, and thoughts and prayers.
    • Matthew
      Matthew  •  Bowling Green, Ohio  •  4 mths ago
      Thanks for a true American, old West/South experience sir. Loved Cracker Barrel as a kid. RIP to Dan. What a great time.
    • DENNIS
      DENNIS  •  4 mths ago
      AND HE IS BEING BURIED IN A BARREL OF CRACKERS
    • Joel
      Joel  •  Indianapolis, Indiana  •  4 mths ago
      The company was also anti gay firing anyone they thought might be gay
    • Steve
      Steve  •  4 mths ago
      Retired in 2004. I wondered why the quality has declined the last few yrs. This must have allowed the bean counters to take over and do what they do best; destroy the brand for increased profit margin.
    • Business Boy
      Business Boy  •  Garrison, Iowa  •  4 mths ago
      I am starting to realize that most of people posting on Yahoo are a bunch of self-loathing morons. The man died. Either pay your respects or say nothing.
    • Kim Jong Un
      Kim Jong Un  •  4 mths ago
      We were driving to FL (no, not from North Korea, I was at my summer home in the US)... it was a long drive (over 24 hours), and we stopped a cracker barrel on the way. Our waiter (can I say waiter, or is that not PC) was a black (can I say black, or is that not PC) gentleman. He was polite, saw how tired we were, made certain our coffee was always filled, and engaged in a little small chat with us about our trip. When he learned that we still had over 12 hours to go, he gave us a tray of their AWESOME biscuits for the ride (we were there very early AM and the place was dead. Not only did we leave him a large tip, we spoke with the manager on the way out and told the manager what a pleasant young man our waiter had been, and the manager mentioned that they would be eyeing him up for management. I have no idea why I'm telling this story, as I'm only 2 sheets to the wind right now and still have 1 more to go... but that was one of the greatest experiences that I have ever had in a restaurant, and it was all because of our server. The food was also excellent.
     Post a comment
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