Jackson’s Cracker Barrel location closes: Joins list of closed I-55 businesses

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - After nearly 31 years of serving the Jackson community, the city’s only Cracker Barrel closed its doors Monday.

The store joins a list of businesses located off of I-55 that have closed their doors to the public in the last two years. Including but not limited to the following:

• Luby’s and Fuddruckers
• Hotel O
• Studio 7 Hotel (temporarily closed)

Both hotels were closed by the city after being found guilty of violating several code enforcement laws. Which is a situation that Ward 2 Jackson Councilwoman Angelique Lee doesn’t mind seeing.

“We want to do everything we can to keep our ward safe and the businesses that operate and serve the community. We want those people to feel safe in those businesses as well. So, if they’re not serving the people in the manner that they should be, they need to be closed,” said Councilwoman Lee.

Although businesses have closed within the last few years, Councilwoman Lee said new additions are coming soon.

“We have the Amazon last mile distribution center that’s about to open up. We’re about to do our tour and walk-through at the end of the month. We’re excited about that and the opportunities that it will bring,” said Councilwoman Lee.

That Amazon Distribution Center will be opening right next to the temporarily closed Studio 7 Hotel, and Councilwoman Lee says a new company is also getting ready to move into the former Luby’s and Fuddruckers building.

A brand new Quik Trip gas station is also getting ready to open right next to the former Cracker Barrel location.

Cracker Barrel’s Media Relations Team released the following statement to WLBT regarding the closure.

As a standard course of business, we continually evaluate the performance of our stores, using various criteria to ensure we are meeting the needs of our guests and our business. As part of this process, we have made the difficult decision to close our store in Jackson, Miss., effective Monday, May 22. The decision to close a store is never one we take lightly, and we will assist our impacted employees and managers during the transition, including offering them employment at our nearby location in Pearl.

It is not uncommon for a store’s traffic patterns and volumes to change over time, and we saw this occur in Jackson coming out of the pandemic. Despite the strong efforts of our employees, our Jackson store was unable to overcome these and other challenges. We extend our sincere thanks to our employees who worked so hard to keep our fireplace glowing and to the guests who have dined with us, celebrated with us, and made us part of the Jackson community for more than 30 years. We look forward to reconnecting with them at our other Mississippi Cracker Barrels soon.

Construction crews could be seen removing appliances and furniture from the store Tuesday evening. All signs and notions of the store’s existence have been completely removed.

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