SHE’S NO. 1!
Media woman gets in line at 4:45 a.m. to be 1st in the door at Cracker Barrel
Cassidy Macomber of Media sits in a booth at the new Cracker Barrel Country Store in Ridley Township Monday. She arrived at the eatery at 5:45 a.m. so she could be the first customer through its doors at 6 a.m.
RIDLEY TOWNSHIP » The light rain falling in the chilly morning darkness didn’t deter about a dozen customers who lined up and waited outside to be the first customers through the door at the new Cracker Barrel Old Country Store when it opened to the public at 6 a.m. Monday.
Claiming the number one spot going through the door was Cassidy Macomber of Media, who arrived at 5:45 a.m. to get the honors. Macomber, who is a real estate processor for Universal Real Estate Services, was rewarded for being first through the doors with a complimentary breakfast. Staff snapped her photo and asked her to sign a menu to mark the moment as the first customer to be served on opening day.
Dining solo, Macomber said, “I am originally from Florida where there are Cracker Barrels everywhere! This is very exciting to have one so close to where I’m now living.”
Second through the doors was the Sharp family of Upper Chichester. Brett and Angela Sharp, accompanied by their children Elizabeth, 15, and Stephen, 12, said that they were seconds away from being first in line, which had been their goal, when they arrived at 5:45 a.m.
“We missed it by a few seconds,” Stephen said, smiling, but sounding a little disappointed. “But being second was still pretty big, so I’ll still get to flaunt it at school all day!”
The children attend Liberty Baptist Academy in Glenolden, where both their parents teach. Since they all go to the same destination on weekday mornings, the family members agreed that they will surely be back soon.
“We are big fans of Cracker Barrel,” Brett explained. “We go up to the Plymouth Meeting location about three or four times a year and we always eat at Cracker Barrel when we travel. We just really like it! This one is right on our way to work and school so it’s a convenient location for us.”
Greg Tucker, who began his career at Cracker Barrel 10 years ago, has been named general manager of the Delaware County location.
“The Ridley community has been so welcoming, and we are excited to return the hospitality at their new Cracker Barrel,” said Tucker. “We look forward to being a home-away-from-home in the area by providing high-quality, home-style meals and shopping that’s surprisingly unique and genuinely fun.”
At Cracker Barrel, breakfast is available all day, with lunch and dinner options beginning at 11 a.m. Cracker Barrel serves home-style meals prepared from scratch like homemade chicken n’ dumplings and Wholesome Fixin’s meals, which are full-flavored options prepared with fresh ingredients for a lighter twist on guest-favorite dishes. Along with dining in a warm and welcoming atmosphere, Cracker Barrel guests can enjoy shopping in the old country store for toys, games, food items, apparel, accessories and other unique items. Cracker Barrel collects inspiration from all parts of life and shares that with guests through collections designed around various themes.
Earning the third-throughthe-door honorary title, friends George Andrien of Boothwyn and Rick Smith of Chichester said that they are used to rising early and getting out on the road so making it to the 6 a.m. restaurant opening was no effort at all to the pair. Andrien, who is an HVAC mechanic, said he gets up at 5:10 a.m. every day, and Smith, a contractor, said that he’s an early bird, too.
“We’ll be here often,” Andrien smiled.
Brian Perry, Cracker Barrel district manager, overlooked the dining room, with a pleased expression on his face, as customers came in, filling up seats at a steady pace.
“We’ve trained for a whole month to prepare for this day,” he said. “We’re ready.”
On the floor, operational trainer Hannah Murphy accompanied server Marcus Clark of Upland on his initial rounds to tables. With iPads in hand, Murphy, visiting from Mount Morris, Pa., made sure that Clark was taking orders and serving customers in “Cracker Barrel style.” Clark took the order of Carl Mushinski and his brother Ed Mushinski, of Chichester, and Ed’s sons, Jimmy, 12 and Matt, 16. Ed and Matt ordered the Sunrise Sampler, while Uncle Carl and Jimmy ordered
Grandpa’s Country Breakfast from the menu.
“We’re always up this early, so it was no big deal for us to get over here. I wanted to come to the opening today ever since I read about it in the Daily
Times,” Ed explained. “We will probably come for breakfast about every two weeks now that it’s here.”
According to Breeanna Straessle, manager of corporate communications for Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, the average location sees approximately 800-1,000 guests a day. The Ridley Township Cracker Barrel location marks the 24th location in Pennsylvania and the 647th across the nation in 44 states. The nearest locations to the Ridley Township restaurant are stores in Plymouth Meeting, Pa., and Pennsville, N.J. The 10,000 square-foot building and front porch at the Ridley location will seat 180 guests.
The Ridley location held an invitation-only preview event on Friday for about 100 guests, following an official ribbon-cutting ceremony. Community leaders and local dignitaries were invited to sample a limited menu so that members of the restaurant’s staff, who had been training for weeks, had a morning to practice and get into top form for the Monday opening. After Friday morning, the restaurant closed for the weekend to be ready for Monday’s grand opening to the public. The store hired and trained about 200 employees to be ready for the opening.
Guest Services/Sales Associate Teadra Barry of Philadelphia stood with her co-workers Danielle Jones of Holmes, Susan Innamorato of Ridley Park, Maria Ryan of Eddystone and Mandy Evans of Crum Lynne, in the Country Store to greet and seat customers as they entered.
“I like to travel and when I do, I always track down a Cracker Barrel Old Country Store for eating because I really like them a lot,” Barry stated. “I like to eat here, shop here, and so when I saw a chance to apply for a job here, I thought, ‘Why not work here too?’ I love Cracker Barrel’s food and products. I am very excited to be working here and give everyone a positive experience like I always have at Cracker Barrel!”
Seated in what seemed like a dining room full of longtime Cracker Barrel fans, Rose Hammer of Lansdowne was visiting her first-ever Cracker Barrel Old Country Store. Arriving slightly after the 6 a.m. opening with her friend Cynthia Norman of Lansdowne, a seasoned Cracker Barrel patron, Hammer said that she was impressed on her initial visit.
“Cindy told me about their incredible sourdough French toast,” Hammer, who was on her way to work as a nanny in Media, said, “and I was like ‘Let’s go!’ So far, the food is every bit as good as she told me it was. The place is very nice. I like the décor and this big beautiful fireplace is lovely.”
Among the first dozen in the door was William Harper of Collingdale. He had worked all night as a police officer for the Amtrak Police Department in Wilmington, Del. He was on his way home so he decided to stop by to get breakfast. His server, Alberta Washington of Secane, arrived at 5 p.m. and was wide awake and smiling as she took Harper’s order.
“I ordered the Sunrise Sampler,” Harper said. “It was an easy choice for opening day. I pass right by here coming from work each day so I plan to eat here often. I’m a Cracker Barrel fan!”
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, 125 S. Stewart Ave., Ridley Township, will be open seven days a week, from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday 364 days a year, closed only Christmas Day. To keep up with the latest news on the Ridley store, customers can visit the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Ridley Facebook page. For more information about the company, visit crackerbarrel.com.