The Mount Airy News
POSTED ON DECEMBER 8, 2015 BY MTAIRYNEWS
Couple visits city on Cracker Barrel odyssey
By Tom Joyce -
tjoyce@civitasmedia.com
Some people have goals of trying to visit all U.S. states, or maybe national
parks. But the objective for one Indiana couple is traveling to every Cracker
Barrel restaurant, which has included a stopover in Mount Airy.
“We’ve been to 635,” Ray Yoder said last week of the odyssey by him and wife
Wilma which has taken them to every corner of the country. Recently, their
ongoing mission brought the pair to Mount Airy, where Cracker Barrel opened a
new restaurant on U.S. 601 during the summer, one of the latest additions to the
Tennessee-based franchise.
Based on their latest journey here, the Yoders, who are both 79, are nearing
their ultimate goal of visiting every Cracker Barrel. “Two more,” Ray Yoder said
from his home in Indiana near South Bend, adding that the couple has a map on
which they have circled the location of each restaurant covered.
He said the couple’s quest began in the late 1970s, which stemmed from his job
at the time which involved delivering recreational vehicles to dealers
throughout the United States. This provided a rare opportunity to see the
country which tended to also involve stops at Cracker Barrel locations along the
way — mainly for logistical reasons.
“They usually were accessible,” Yoder said of Cracker Barrel’s presence along
interstates and other major highways, “and they had RV parking right behind the
store.” Once the recreational vehicle was delivered, there was a flight back
home and then another RV journey would take place.
The Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Internet site states that there are 633
restaurants in the chain, and Yoder mentioned that the 635 visited so far
reflect changes over the years. “Some that we have been to have closed, which
might be different from Cracker Barrel’s count.”
The Yoders’ odyssey has been almost continuous — except for a major detour
earlier this year.
“So they’re very excited and feel very lucky to be able to restart their
journey.”
“She’s doing fair, and we’re so glad to have her back,” Ray Yoder said this week
of his wife’s medical crisis.
Stays a while
Ray and Wilma Yoder have become legendary figures among the Cracker Barrel
chain, with the staff in Mount Airy greeting them with gifts during their visit
here. But Yoder admits that he has lost sleep ever since because he forgot to
leave the waitress a tip, and called back to Mount Airy to inform the staff he
would be sending one by mail.
“My daughter used to be a waitress, and I know how important the tip is to
them.”
Yoder added that Cracker Barrel establishments usually have the same design,
although the one in Morganton boasts unique architecture compared to others.
The food also is comparable from place to place. “It tastes the same in
Londonderry, New Hampshire, as it does in El Paso, Texas,” Yoder said.
His favorite dishes at Cracker Barrel are the meatloaf (“nobody has been able to
match their meatloaf”) and hash brown casserole. “It’s just so much like home
cooking there’s just lots of it that we really like,” Yoder said of its
collective offerings.
He is not aware of anyone else who has tried to visit every Cracker Barrel
location.
“There’s a guy who does that with McDonald’s,” Yoder said of the fast-food chain
that has about 35,000 outlets, including many in foreign countries.
Yoder said the goal of visiting every Cracker Barrel — which he began when
America had lots of wide-open spaces more conducive to travel — is not the kind
of endeavor someone would start from scratch today.
“It would not be a thing you would do in today’s world with the traffic that we
have.”
Tom Joyce may be reached at 336-415-4693 or on Twitter @Me_Reporter.
Ray Yoder also enjoys playing checkers and you
often see him participating in David Beachy's Checker Meet in Sarasota, FL;
Crist Miller's Mid-Ohio in Fredericksburg; Pete Schmucker's
Checker Meet in Shipshewana, IN; Tennessee Open or Southern in Lebanon; and
North Carolina or Virginia tournaments. I understand Ray and several of
his Amish checker playing friends will attend the 2016 “3-Move” National in Branson,
Missouri.