Cracker Barrel to debut Holler & Dash fast-casual restaurants

After 46 years, the locally-based family dining chain Cracker Barrel is aiming to reinvigorate its brand with a new restaurant concept called Holler & Dash.

The fast-casual biscuit house will make its debut this spring in Homewood, Ala.

Specific details about the Holler & Dash menu and future expansion plans are not yet available. Cracker Barrel, based in Lebanon, is in its quiet period before an earnings release next week.

In a written statement provided to The Tennessean, Cracker Barrel said Holler & Dash will be “committed to good, Southern food” with a twist.

“We’re bringing flare to Southern fare,” the statement says.

Cracker Barrel aims to launch fast casual concept in 2016

Cracker Barrel worked with two local chefs to develop Holler & Dash: chef de cuisine Jason McConnell and director of culinary Brandon Frohne.

McConnell has consulted with local restaurants and opened four of his own, including Franklin’s Red Pony Restaurant and 55 South. He has been invited to prepare dinner in March at the prestigious James Beard House in New York. Frohne is the former executive chef at Mason’s restaurant and bar inside the Loews Vanderbilt Hotel. He’s twice cooked dinner at the James Beard House.

According to Cracker Barrel, McConnell developed Holler & Dash’s signature biscuit.

The launch of Holler & Dash will position Cracker Barrel to compete in one of the fastest-growing segments of the dining industry and it has the potential to target new clientele for the company. Fast-casual restaurants typically do not offer full table service and are categorized between casual dining and fast food with an emphasis on higher quality food.

Locally, fast-casual biscuit house Biscuit Love opened to rave reviews a year ago. The restaurant in the Gulch — which Karl and Sarah Worley first launched as a food truck — regularly has customers lined down the block.

Founded in 1969, Cracker Barrel combines country stores and restaurants, with many locations positioned near highway exits in an attempt to target travelers.

For Mason's chef Brandon Frohne, cooking is salvation

Cracker Barrel says its restaurants offer "authentic Southern hospitality" and "real home-style food." The stores sell a range of items, including food, home goods, books, toys, apparel and personal care items.

In an email statement in February, Cracker Barrel spokeswoman Janella Escobar said Holler & Dash will “leverage the strength of (the Cracker Barrel) brand while providing a different type of guest experience.”

Cracker Barrel operates 635 locations in 42 states. The company reported revenue increased 2.8 percent to $702.6 million in the first quarter of 2016.

Also this week, Cracker Barrel announced that by 2026 it will source 100 percent of the 220 million eggs it uses each year from hens that aren't confined to cages. The company follows in the footsteps of other large U.S. chains making the cage-free egg pledge, including McDonald’s, Burger King, Starbucks, Panera Bread and Taco Bell. On Friday, Trader Joe’s announced it will only sell cage-free eggs by 2025.

Cracker Barrel moving to cage-free eggs by 2026

Cracker Barrel founder�s former estate sells for $4.6 million

Pentatonix brings pop to Cracker Barrel

Kimberly Schlapman does kitchen line for Cracker Barrel

Reach Lizzy Alfs at 615-726-5948 and on Twitter @lizzyalfs.