The bad news keeps piling up for the beleaguered bourbon industry. It’s not enough that whole distilleries are folding left and right - now the factory operations that support the broader industry are shrinking, too. And with sales collapsing - Wild Turkey down 8%, Bulleit down 7%, even Jack Daniel’s down 6% - unfortunately the pain may just be beginning. Here are two recent factory closures with big [...]
Wrong! Cracker Barrel’s Re-Branding Is Borderline Genius
The headlines, fans, social media, and the stock price seem to be saying Cracker Barrel has made a huge mistake in its rebrand. Like "New Coke" level if you believe the hype. But it's actually not so bad...and it actually may be borderline genius. Cracker Barrel has changed three big things. Let's break them down. The logo Admittedly, this is one they could have done better here. The old iconic logo you see [...]
5 California factories give up, announce closure plans with 1,200+ jobs wiped out
Fresh off a string of factory and restaurant closures - unfortunately, California is losing even more factories as the unemployment crisis deepens. California is the fourth-largest economy in the world all on its own, so when it has problems - that can signal bigger issues are incoming, fast. And unfortunately, these new factory losses span a variety of different sectors within the broader food industry: Where are [...]
4 Connecticut restaurants go bankrupt as economic collapse accelerates
Much ink has been spilled about all the lost factory jobs as plants go dark across America - but these stories are missing a critical (and dire) source of lost jobs: The restaurant industry. A series of major chains have gone bankrupt this year, threatening the closures of hundreds of stores and the loss of thousands of jobs. Connecticut is ground zero for these losses, with four separate restaurants all going bankrupt [...]
10 States with the Most Cracker Barrels
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Hostess taps out, announces factory closure and huge layoffs – with more likely to come
Another day, another iconic brand shutting down a factory. This time it’s Hostess - maker of all kinds of delicious snacks and cakes - closing its iconic plant in Indianapolis by the end of 2026. That’s an estimated 260 jobs on the line, although if Smucker successfully sells the plant, perhaps some of those jobs could be preserved. (Pure speculation on my part.) The J.M. Smucker Company bought Hostess in 2023, and the [...]
