How Cracker Barrel Gets Its Iconic Look (And How You Can Recreate It In Your Kitchen)

Every restaurant chain has a unique brand identity, but few are as distinct as Cracker Barrel's. From the rocking chair-laden porches to the iconic Cracker Barrel gift shop stocked with sweet-smelling candles and retro candy brands, walking into these restaurants feels like being transported to a maximalist grandma's rustic cabin. With this unique flair, the chain has set itself apart as more than just a restaurant — dining here is a full-blown experience. While the look of this chain is familiar to us today, how did this iconic facade come to be in the first place? Well, Cracker Barrel's commitment to a rustic scene has been in place since the beginning. 

Before the first store opened in Tennessee, back in 1969, Cracker Barrel founder Dan Evins knew he wanted to re-create the feel of an authentic 1890s-era country store for his new restaurant. He turned to local antique store owners Don and Kathleen Singleton for advice. Don and Kathleen were eager to help decorate Dan's restaurant, pulling from their collection of curated vintage goods to make the space come alive. They scoured their store for artifacts local to Tennessee and beyond, all of which combined to create the restaurant's ambiance.

From vintage ads embossed in steel, retro children's toys, eclectic kitchen gadgets, farming tools, and more, Cracker Barrel's look slowly came into focus. When the first restaurant opened, the sweet combination of homestyle cooking and cozy decor proved to be a hit, and it wasn't long before more locations were in the works.

As Cracker Barrel added new locations, Don and Kathleen Singleton eventually joined the company full-time as designers. The number of stores doubled, and so did Don and Kathleen's stock of vintage goods. Eventually, they outgrew the space where they were storing items, which happened to be one of their grandparent's bedrooms. This led to the opening of Cracker Barrel's very own decor warehouse in Tennessee. Enlisting the help of antique pickers like Mike Kellett, who will dig into estate sales, flea markets, and more to help curate a collection, the warehouse slowly filled up with thousands of authentic vintage items for the decor team to pull from. Some objects stored here date back to the 1800s, and there are never any replicas.

The 26,000-square-foot decor warehouse is currently filled with 90,000 cleaned and cataloged vintage pieces, many of them long defunct. There's even a 1926 Model T! Complete with a restoration and planning area, this is where Cracker Barrel's decor team curates and plans the look for every new Cracker Barrel store.

Don and Kathleen Singleton remained on the design team until retirement, when they passed their leadership role on to their son, Larry Singleton. After 50 years of the Singleton family leading the curation of Cracker Barrel stores, Larry eventually retired, too, in 2019. The team is now run by decor manager Joe Stewart.

Today, over 700,000 vintage items are on display across more than 650 Cracker Barrel locations, with every store displaying about 1,000 different items. While the original decorating duo may have moved on, the chain's commitment to relevant and unique decor is still in place today. The team does plenty of research to find unique decor for each Cracker Barrel location that reflects earlier eras of the local community.

For example, Fort Payne, Alabama, was once the sock capital of the world thanks to its prominent role as a textile manufacturer. The Cracker Barrel there features knitting machines and other sock-making memorabilia. So, if you're not a fan of Cracker Barrel's classic peg game, play a round of Eye Spy the next time you're in one of its restaurants to see what locally relevant artifacts you can find. It's not just flashy decor — it's also informative about local history. 

It's hard to picture Cracker Barrel without the rustic decor to match that Southern comfort menu. Still, the chain has attempted to move away from this rustic environment in the past in a bid to boost sales. After hitting a slump, the brand debuted a change to reignite excitement in 2024 by adopting a more modern feel. The measure is intended to entice new customers into the restaurants, and while some customers in tested stores were thrown off by the scaled-back decor and clean look, Cracker Barrel said changes like this will continue. 

Cracker Barrel feels like a place plucked out of a bygone era. It cultivates a sense of nostalgia and, in turn, comfort. Its antique decor is a huge part of that; some might even consider it the essence of the Cracker Barrel brand itself.

Even if you live in one of the states without a Cracker Barrel, you can recreate this experience at home. To start, get some inspiration from vintage kitchen trends. For example, to replicate the maximalist feel of a Cracker Barrel, invest in some quirky wallpaper or scour your local antique shops for vintage signage. Next, add some dark, wooden accents to your kitchen to reflect that old cabin feel, not to mention the look of those iconic wooden lattices hung throughout Cracker Barrel's dining areas. For further rustic flair, as well as more storage space, consider hanging your cast iron skillets and pans on the wall.

Finally, what better place to look for inspiration than Cracker Barrel itself? From its bustling gift shop to sprawling dining areas, the chain's stores are filled with antique soda ads, kitchen equipment, and more that can inspire your own kitchen's design. While every location is unique, each one features an ox yoke and horseshoe over the doors (which is a symbol of good luck), a traffic light by the restrooms, and a checkers board by the fireplace. To fully replicate the feel of this iconic country store, consider doing the same at your home, too.