Cracker Barrel cuts ribbon for Rocklin store. Here’s when it’ll open to the public

California’s fifth Cracker Barrel restaurant and country store will open in Rocklin at 6 a.m. Monday, the company said after Friday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony and subsequent breakfast for employees’ friends and families.

The 10,000-square foot business at 4660 Sierra College Blvd. is known for its old-timey charm, country-style breakfasts, tableside peg games and rocking chairs on the front porch. It’s open every day of the year but Christmas, and has hired 175 full- and part-time employees for the Placer County location.

Cracker Barrel’s opening drew Assemblyman Kevin Kiley, R-Rocklin; Rocklin mayor Joe Patterson; police chief Chad Butler; and a slew of other well-wishers, including the entire Rocklin City Council and a representative for Sen. Brian Dahle, R-Dahle.

Cracker Barrel broke ground in Rocklin in April after opening its first Northern California location in Arden Arcade last year. Its decor regularly includes taxidermied animal heads, a wood-burning fireplace and wooden tables and chairs; the Rocklin restaurant’s walls bear Gold Rush-era replica tools as well. Founded in Lebanon, Tennessee, in 1969, the chain has 661 locations across 45 states.

Ray Yoder has been to all of them. The 83-year-old retired RV transporter from Elkhart, Indiana, started eating at Cracker Barrels on long rides across the country because they were usually by highways, employed friendly servers and served food he liked, he said. When his wife, Wilma, who accompanied him to nearly all the locations, passed away recently, Cracker Barrel sent enough food for 20 people, he said.

“We love Cracker Barrel and all its people, because the train everybody so well,” Yoder said. “I’m the unemployed employee. They claim me as part of the family, and I like being a part of it. It’s been fun, and it makes the golden years a bunch of happy ones.”

This story was originally published November 29, 2019 at 2:02 PM.