The Curious Case of Cracker Barrel in California

Cracker Barrel officially opened it's first store in California yesterday in Victorville, CA. The Tenneesee based chain has nearly 650 locations across the US, but it's finally expanding into CA with it's latest addition. Or is it? I fondly recall a restaurant named Cracker Barrel on South St., near Palos Verdes in Lakewood having a restaurant named that in the 1980's. From everything that Cracker Barrel has released publically, this isn't the case. So what gives?

Apparently I'm not alone in wondering what the heck is going on, as there are many other articles on the web that support the theory that there were Cracker Barrels in California in the 70's/80's. I found a few pictures/newspaper clips speaking about this exact issue, so it sure seems like they existed before.

From what I was able to find, it looks like a guy named Stanley Wong was the owner of these particular stores, although it seems likely that he somehow faked the name and used it without the consent/knowledge of Cracker Barrel. Weird, but I guess it's possible back in the 70's/80's....but man, their corporate lawyers would be all over this in a second if it happened today.