Incoming CEO David Deno has not announced his first menu changes, but this look at how Cracker Barrel could change under its new CEO suggests familiar food will receive more attention than flashy reinvention.
Deno takes over August 10 as Cracker Barrel attempts to rebuild its relationship with longtime customers. One of the easiest ways to demonstrate that the company is listening would be to restore the foods those customers still miss.
Cracker Barrel has already brought back Campfire Meals and other retired favorites. New management should continue that strategy with these five dishes.
1. Roast Beef Dinner
The Roast Beef Dinner may be the most obvious omission from Cracker Barrel’s current menu.
The chain discontinued its traditional roast beef in late 2024 or early 2025 as it rolled out the Slow-Braised Pot Roast. Both are beef dishes covered in gravy, but loyal customers quickly made it clear that they did not consider them interchangeable.
The old dinner featured thick-cut chuck roast slowly cooked until fork-tender and served with a choice of country sides. It was simple, substantial and exactly the kind of meal many travelers expected to find at Cracker Barrel.
The current pot roast includes carrots, onions and celery simmered with the meat. Some customers prefer it, but others miss the texture, flavor and straightforward presentation of the previous roast beef.
New management does not necessarily have to choose between the two. Cracker Barrel could offer the classic Roast Beef Dinner on certain days, test it at selected restaurants or use it as a limited-time special before deciding whether to restore it nationally.
Few menu changes would send a clearer message that Cracker Barrel is listening.
2. Fried Chicken Livers
Fried Chicken Livers were never going to appeal to everyone. That is precisely why they mattered.
Cracker Barrel became successful by offering Southern foods that were increasingly difficult to find at national restaurants. Chicken livers helped distinguish the chain from competitors serving nearly identical burgers, chicken sandwiches and salads.
The dish developed a devoted following before disappearing from the menu. Customers continue to request its return, while copycat recipes attempt to reproduce the seasoned breading and tender interior at home.
Kitchen complexity and limited national demand may make a permanent systemwide return difficult. However, Cracker Barrel could bring Chicken Livers back regionally, offer them as a daily special or test them in Southern markets where demand is likely to be strongest.
Not every successful dish needs to become a nationwide bestseller. Some foods are valuable because they reinforce what makes a restaurant different.
3. Chicken Pot Pie every day
Chicken Pot Pie has not completely disappeared, but finding it can be unnecessarily complicated.
At participating restaurants, it may appear as a weekday lunch special rather than an everyday lunch-and-dinner entrée. Availability can vary by location and menu cycle, leaving customers uncertain about when they can order it.
New management should make Chicken Pot Pie a permanent daily option again.
The dish combines slow-simmered chicken, potatoes, peas, carrots, celery and onions in a creamy sauce beneath a flaky pastry crust. It is difficult to imagine a meal more closely aligned with Cracker Barrel’s homestyle identity.
Chicken Pot Pie also fills an important place on the menu. It feels hearty without being another fried entrée, and it appeals to customers looking for a complete comfort-food meal rather than meat accompanied by several separate sides.
The chain has previously promoted Chicken Pot Pie as an everyday favorite. Restoring consistent daily availability would not require inventing a new dish or convincing customers to try an unfamiliar flavor. Cracker Barrel would simply make one of its most recognizable meals easier to order.
4. Chicken Salad Sandwich
Cracker Barrel discontinued its Chicken Salad Sandwich around 2017, but customers still mention it among the chain’s most missed lunch items.
The sandwich offered a lighter alternative to meatloaf, fried chicken and country-fried steak. Cracker Barrel’s chicken salad included ingredients such as apples and grapes and was served on a choice of bread with accompanying sides.
It felt homemade without being heavy.
That distinction matters because Cracker Barrel’s menu increasingly emphasizes large breakfasts and substantial dinners. Not every customer wants an oversized meal, particularly during lunch or while traveling.
Bringing back the Chicken Salad Sandwich would add variety without pushing the restaurant away from its identity. Chicken salad is traditional, familiar and relatively easy to understand. It could also be offered over lettuce for customers who do not want bread.
New management will likely want to simplify the menu and improve kitchen execution. The Chicken Salad Sandwich is the type of straightforward item that could broaden customer choice without making Cracker Barrel feel like an entirely different restaurant.
5. Baked Apple Dumplin’
Cracker Barrel reduced its menu during the pandemic, and the Baked Apple Dumplin’ was one of the casualties that never returned.
The dessert featured warm apples beneath a pecan-streusel crust, served with vanilla ice cream and apple topping. It was large, indulgent and unapologetically old-fashioned.
In other words, it was an ideal Cracker Barrel dessert.
The current menu includes familiar sweets such as Double Chocolate Fudge Coca-Cola Cake and cobbler, but the Baked Apple Dumplin’ gave the restaurant something more distinctive. Customers could find chocolate cake almost anywhere. A warm apple dessert with streusel and ice cream felt connected to the chain’s country-store personality.
It would also be easy to market as a returning classic. Cracker Barrel could initially offer it during the fall, when warm apple desserts are especially appealing, before deciding whether to keep it throughout the year.
If new management wants one nostalgic item capable of generating excitement on social media, the Baked Apple Dumplin’ may be the best candidate.
Cracker Barrel does not need another menu reinvention
A restaurant operating approximately 660 locations cannot restore every discontinued dish. Large menus increase costs, complicate kitchen operations and make consistent preparation more difficult.
However, simplifying a menu should not mean removing the foods that made the restaurant distinctive.
The strongest comeback candidates are dishes that customers still remember, fit Cracker Barrel’s identity and provide something that competitors do not. Roast Beef Dinner, Fried Chicken Livers, Chicken Pot Pie, Chicken Salad Sandwich and Baked Apple Dumplin’ all meet at least two of those tests.
Cracker Barrel has already restored its old logo and halted its controversial restaurant makeover. The next step should be applying the same lesson to its food.
Sometimes the best way to make Cracker Barrel relevant again is to bring back the dishes customers never wanted it to lose.
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