LEBANON Tenn. CBRL Group Inc., operator of 551 Cracker Barrel Old Country Store restaurant and gift shops, said same-store restaurant sales for the four weeks ended Feb. 23 declined 1.3 percent from the same four weeks a year ago. The chain's average check increased 1.2 percent during the latest period, aided by a 1.5-percent average menu price hike, CBRL said. Analysts pegged the chain's February traffic decline at 2.5 percent from a year ago.
Same-store retail sales were up 1.5 percent from a year ago, CBRL reported. The company said both the same-store restaurant and retail sales were negatively affected by as much as 2 percent and as much as 3.5 percent, respectively, from winter weather more severe this year than last year.