Maple Street Biscuit Company Is Closing for Good
Cracker Barrel is done with Maple Street Biscuit Company. On July 20, 2026, the company announced it had sold the Maple Street Biscuit Company brand and assets tied to 35 locations to Biscuit Belly LLC, marking an exit from the fast-casual breakfast segment after acquiring the Jacksonville-based chain for $36 million in 2019. The Maple Street name itself won’t survive the deal.
Here’s the split. Biscuit Belly, a Southeast chain of about 15 restaurants, picked up 35 Maple Street locations plus the trademark. Those stores aren’t staying on Maple Street, though. Chad Coulter, the company’s co-founder and CEO, said the Maple Street locations would be converted over the next 18 to 24 months, with a refresh inside and out and a new scratch-made menu. Conversions start with stores in Cincinnati and Richmond, Virginia, with the first wave beginning in January 2027.
The other 16 locations weren’t part of the sale at all. Cracker Barrel is closing those permanently, on top of the 14 Maple Street locations it had already shuttered the previous September as part of an earlier round of underperformance cuts. Between the two rounds, that’s 30 Maple Street cafés gone in under a year, and the remaining 35 are on a countdown to becoming something else entirely.
Why sell instead of just keep trimming the weak stores? Cracker Barrel put it plainly: divesting Maple Street sharpens the company’s focus on its core brand and is expected to improve profitability, according to CEO Julie Masino. It’s a small piece of the business, financially. Maple Street made up less than 2% of Cracker Barrel’s annual revenue, against roughly 660 Cracker Barrel stores companywide. The exit isn’t cheap on paper, though. Cracker Barrel expects $37 million to $39 million in non-cash charges tied to the Maple Street exit in its fiscal fourth quarter, plus another $6 million to $8 million in cash costs for severance and lease terminations.
None of this is happening in a vacuum. It follows a rough stretch for Cracker Barrel that started with a controversial 2025 logo redesign, which the company reversed after customer backlash, and a proxy fight from Steak ‘n Shake over its leadership. Shedding Maple Street reads like part of the broader cleanup: fewer distractions, more attention on the flagship stores.
For longtime fans, the timeline gives some breathing room. The 35 surviving locations will keep serving biscuits under the Maple Street name for months, in some cases into 2027, before Biscuit Belly’s rebrand reaches them. The 16 locations left out of the deal are the ones to watch, since Cracker Barrel hasn’t published a full list, and closures at chains like this tend to arrive with little warning.
FAQ
Is Maple Street Biscuit Company closing completely?
Not immediately. Thirty-five locations will convert to Biscuit Belly over the next 18 to 24 months, while 16 locations not included in the sale will close for good.
Who bought Maple Street Biscuit Company?
Biscuit Belly, a Kentucky-based breakfast chain, bought the Maple Street trademark and 35 restaurant locations from Cracker Barrel in July 2026.
Will Maple Street locations become Biscuit Belly?
Yes, the acquired stores will be renovated and rebranded as Biscuit Belly on a rolling basis, starting with Cincinnati and Richmond, Virginia, locations.
