Cracker Barrel Sells Maple Street Biscuit Chain

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc. (Lebanon, Tenn.) announced plans to sell most of its Maple Street Biscuit Co. chain to Biscuit Belly (Louisville, Ky.). The news, divulged in separate news releases from the two companies, call for Biscuit Belly to acquire 35 Maple Street locales and for Cracker Barrel to close the remaining 16.

The news follows Cracker Barrel shuttering roughly 20 Maple Street units last year. (Also during that time, Cracker Barrel was rocked over a controversy to update its logo and store look, moves the chain subsequently reversed.) Cracker Barrel acquired Maple Biscuit in 2019 and once viewed it as a major platform for future growth. (At its peak, the chain had 70 locales.)

In its release on the divestiture, Biscuit Belly said it will convert the Maple Street Biscuit Co. locations to its brand over the next 18-24 months, positioning it for more growth.

“Acquiring an iconic brand like Maple Street, one of the original gourmet biscuit sandwich concepts, was not on my 2026 bingo card,” said Chad Coulter, Co-Founder and CEO of Biscuit Belly, which currently has 15 restaurants. “Two of the biggest headwinds that growing brands encounter are the time required to find and build locations, and the difficulty of finding great teams. When we looked at Maple Street’s geography, footprints and established teams, a light bulb went off.”

In Cracker Barrel’s release, President and CEO Julie Masino: “Divesting Maple Street sharpens our focus on the core Cracker Barrel brand and is expected to improve profitability. Combined with our improved fiscal 2026 outlook and reduced leverage, these actions demonstrate the progress we are making against our strategic priorities.”

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.