Do you like Cracker Barrel? I do. I like the chow, I like the blazing fireplace in winter, the antiques hanging on every available square inch of wall and ceiling, the knickknacks and vintage candy in the store, and the unbelievable pancakes, pot roast, and string beans. I love it all.
They don't put Cracker Barrel in malls or suburban shopping centers; they are along interstates, where their gigantic signs lure drivers who really need a Grandma's Sampler as a solid bedtime tuck-in. The one we like is 20 miles from our house. You never see unhappy, churlish people at the Barrel, because, traveler or local, you will find the eats are good and the atmosphere is welcoming.
But just don't take it from me! Check with Ray and Wilma Yoder, from Goshen, Indiana. As often as people say things like "we've eaten at every Cracker Barrel everywhere," Ray and Wilma really HAVE! This summer, they hit their 645th Barrel, and that's all of them!
Last week, it was Ray's 81st birthday, so they tied on the feedbags at the Tualatin, Oregon Cracker Barrel.
This part adds up: Ray worked for years as a truck driver. He delivered recreational vehicles all across the country, and 40 years they began their mutual quest to walk past the rocking chairs in every spot.
“Travel was in our blood and we’ve always liked it,” Ray says in a video the company is putting out.
“And, of course, the best place to eat was at Cracker Barrel. It took the boredom out of the highway to eat there because it was so much like home — we could order what we liked, and they always had what we liked.”
He is right! How many times have I asked for a side of grits, only to get a quizzical stare and "What's a grit?" in return.
Of course, the company is all in for the Yoders, and once they found out that the couple was approaching the magic 645 mark, they invited them to Tualatin on the house. Which is good, because who ever heard of Tualatin?
"When they arrived, our employees formed a 'clap tunnel' of sorts to cheer and celebrate them,” Breeanna Straessle, spokesperson for the restaurant and store chain, told the TODAY Show. “We gave them custom Cracker Barrel aprons with their names on them — with four stars, of course, the highest rank.”
And that makes the Yoders the only non-employees to own and operate their own aprons!
Straessie also said, “We also gave them a few other goodies — a set of our famous rockers, a vintage-looking Coca-Cola cooler, Lodge cookware — just lots of classic Cracker Barrel items.”
A happy man of few words but lots of good dinners, Ray said, “It’s quite special. These little farm kids aren’t used to all of this hype.”
And now what? Do the Yoders retire from the quest?
They do not. As soon as a new CB is opened, they'll hit the road again, this time with their aprons on!
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