Cracker Barrel sells Maple Street Biscuit Company

Cracker Barrel is selling its Maple Street Biscuit Company chain to Biscuit Belly as part of a broader strategic reset aimed at improving core-brand focus, profitability, and debt reduction. The deal will close 16 Maple Street locations and transfer 35 others to Biscuit Belly, which plans to rebrand them over the next 18 to 24 months. No financial terms were disclosed. Separately, Cracker Barrel completed a $77 million sale-leaseback on 26 company-operated stores to pay down debt. The move comes as Cracker Barrel continues to struggle with weak comparable sales, which were down about 2.5% in the first 11 weeks of fiscal Q4 2026, and ongoing reputational and activist pressure. The transaction is mildly positive for investors because it supports balance-sheet cleanup and management’s turnaround strategy, though it also highlights persistent operational weakness.