Cracker Barrel’s Southern comfort-food image may help explain why discontinued menu items continue to draw so much attention. Fans have spent years calling for the return of old favorites like black-eyed peas, fried haddock, red-eye gravy and fried chicken livers. For many loyal customers, the frustration is not just about food. It is about nostalgia.
One breakfast item that still has customers talking is the Sunrise Sampler. The platter combines eggs, grits, fried apples, hash brown casserole, sausage, bacon, country ham and biscuits with gravy. Josh Cooper, owner of Cooper’s Next Level BBQ in Tallahassee, Florida, told Fox News Digital he noticed Cracker Barrel removed what he called the “GOAT of all breakfasts”.
Cooper said the appeal of the Sunrise Sampler was simple. It gave diners a little bit of everything without forcing them to spend a lot of money. “Now, in order to get that same teaser touch from the Sunrise Sampler, you have to order it all à la carte, which costs around $25 for the same great meal,” he said. “Blasphemy!”
Cracker Barrel fans are firing back over the chain's decision to axe beloved menu staples — and the Sunrise Sampler tops the list.
The platter once offered eggs, grits, fried apples, hash brown casserole, sausage, bacon, country ham and biscuits with gravy all in one shot.
One… pic.twitter.com/7eOOWfeRr3
— Fox News Lifestyle (@FoxNewsLife) August 4, 2026
He said restaurants should understand the emotional value of longtime menu items. Rising food costs and kitchen pressures may explain why chains make changes, but Cooper said the problem often comes when customers are not brought along for the ride. “The reality is that nostalgia matters,” he said. “When you remove popular items without controlling the narrative or managing customers' expectations, you are bound to have upset patrons.”
Cracker Barrel has already faced backlash over its efforts to modernize the brand. Last summer, the company drew criticism over a logo redesign and restaurant makeover, and last week it announced that CEO Julie Masino would step down. That history makes the menu debate feel bigger than a single breakfast plate.
Rachel Love, a Cracker Barrel fan from Tennessee, said black-eyed peas are one side dish she hopes will come back. She told Fox News Digital she “absolutely loved the black-eyed peas” and that they always felt like part of the Cracker Barrel experience. She also wants the chain to bring back its baked apple dumpling, which she called “the perfect comfort dessert”.
Love said the issue goes beyond one item on the menu. “People aren't just asking for old menu items — they're asking for the comfort and nostalgia that came with them,” she said. “Sometimes bringing back one classic dish means more to loyal customers than introducing several new ones.”