Cracker Barrel sells 26 stores in leaseback deal, divests Maple Street

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (Nasdaq: CBRL) completed a sale-leaseback transaction covering 26 company-owned store locations with an institutional real estate investor, generating net proceeds of approximately $77 million, which the company said it intends to use for debt reduction.

The company also completed the sale of certain assets tied to its Maple Street Biscuit Company (MSBC) business — including the MSBC trademark and assets at 35 locations — to Biscuit Belly, LLC. The remaining 16 MSBC locations will be closed. MSBC contributed less than 2% of Cracker Barrel's annual revenue.

In connection with the MSBC divestiture, Cracker Barrel expects to recognize non-cash charges of approximately $37 million to $39 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, along with additional cash charges of approximately $6 million to $8 million associated with exiting the business, spread across fiscal 2026 and fiscal 2027. The divestiture is expected to be accretive to adjusted EBITDA beginning in fiscal 2027.

Through the first eleven weeks of the company's fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, comparable store restaurant sales decreased approximately 2.5%, while comparable store retail sales increased approximately 0.5% versus the prior-year period.

Cracker Barrel said it now expects to achieve or exceed the high end of its previously issued fiscal 2026 revenue guidance of $3.27 billion to $3.30 billion, and to exceed its adjusted EBITDA outlook of $120 million to $125 million. The fiscal year ends July 31, 2026.

Julie Masino, President and Chief Executive Officer, said the sale-leaseback transaction would "allow us to opportunistically reduce debt while monetizing a portion of our owned real estate at an attractive valuation," and that divesting Maple Street "sharpens our focus on the core Cracker Barrel brand and is expected to improve profitability."

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