Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc. announced July 20 it completed a sale-leaseback transaction with an undisclosed institutional real estate investor involving 26 company-owned Cracker Barrel locations, with two Northeast Florida stores appearing to be part of the agreement.
The real estate transaction for the Cracker Barrel at 4272 Eldridge Loop in Orange Park closed July 14, and the transaction for a second location at 4680 Lenoir Ave. in Jacksonville closed July 17. Deeds for both properties were recorded July 22, showing the Orange Park store sold for $3.2 million and the Jacksonville store sold for $3.1 million, a combined $6.3 million.
Through NS Retail Holdings LLC, the buyer was Dallas-based NETSTREIT Corp., a real estate investment trust specializing in acquiring, owning and managing a nationwide portfolio of single-tenant and net-lease retail commercial real estate, according to the company.
Cracker Barrel operates its restaurants as company-owned locations rather than franchises.
Crackerbarrel.com shows other area store locations at 13250 City Station Drive, 502 Chaffee Point Blvd. and 438 Commerce Center in Jacksonville and 2441 Florida 16 in St. Augustine that remain owned by Cracker Barrel as of July 27.
In its announcement, Cracker Barrel said the sale of all 26 stores generated net proceeds of approximately $77 million that it intends to deploy toward debt reduction.
Through the first 11 weeks of Cracker Barrel’s fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, the company’s SEC filings report that food and beverage sales at existing restaurants decreased approximately 2.5% compared with the same period last year, while gift shop retail sales increased approximately 0.5%.
A sale-leaseback allows a company to sell owned real estate while continuing to operate from the properties through lease agreements, converting real estate assets into capital without disrupting operations.
In the sale-leaseback announcement, the company also disclosed the sale of Maple Street Biscuit Co. as part of its strategic actions.
Cracker Barrel acquired Maple Street Biscuit Co., a Jacksonville-based breakfast and brunch concept, in October 2019 for $36 million. Founded in 2012 with a restaurant in Jacksonville’s San Marco neighborhood, Maple Street grew to 33 locations before being acquired by Cracker Barrel.
Cracker Barrel said it entered into an agreement to sell the brand to Biscuit Belly, which describes itself as a “gourmet biscuit sandwich concept” and said it will convert the Maple Street sites to its brand.
Maple Street had 51 restaurants following the closure of 19 locations since spring 2025. Cracker Barrel said Biscuit Belly is acquiring the assets of 35 Maple Street restaurants, and the remaining 16 will be closed.
The company did not disclose terms of the sale to Biscuit Belly but said it expects to recognize noncash charges of $37 million to $39 million in its current quarter related to the transaction.
“Divesting Maple Street sharpens our focus on the core Cracker Barrel brand and is expected to improve profitability. Combined with our improved fiscal 2026 outlook and reduced leverage, these actions demonstrate the progress we are making against our strategic priorities,” Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Masino said in a news release.
The company said it now expects to achieve or exceed the high end of its fiscal 2026 revenue outlook and exceed its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization outlook. Previously, Cracker Barrel projected total revenue of $3.27 billion to $3.30 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $120 million to $125 million for the fiscal year ending July 31.