Dan Evins

Danny Wood Evins (October 11, 1935 – January 14, 2012) was an American entrepreneur and founder of Cracker Barrel, a Southern-themed restaurant chain.

Evins was born in Smithville, Tennessee, on October 11, 1935, the youngest child of Estelle McCartney and William Jackson Evins.^[1] As a child he graduated from Castle Heights Military Academy in Lebanon, Tennessee.^[2] He enlisted in the US Marine Corps and attended Auburn University.^[1]

Evins also worked as an aide for his uncle, U.S. Rep. Joe L. Evins, before taking a position with his family's oil company.^[1]

Evins founded Cracker Barrel in 1969 while he was working for Shell Oil. He opened the first restaurant in Lebanon, Tennessee, on Tennessee State Route 109.^[3] He borrowed $40,000 to construct the first Cracker Barrel, which turned a profit just one month after opening.^[4]

Evins was the chief executive officer (CEO) of Cracker Barrel from its founding in 1969 to 2001, and after a shareholder exodus due to his discriminatory policies, he was chairman of the board from 2001 until his retirement in 2004.^[3] During this time he was also served as chairman of the board of directors for Castle Heights Military Academy while his son was enrolled in the school.^[2]

In 1998, Evans led the drive by Cracker Barrel to purchase and restore the Mitchell House in Lebanon, Tennessee. The home had been a dormitory for elementary age students while Castle Heights Military Academy had been operating.^[2] The company spent two million dollars to restore the home and make it the company's corporate office.^[5]

During the early 1990s, Evins instituted an official company policy prohibiting the hiring of openly gay individuals. Following backlash from large shareholders from progressive areas, such as the New York City Employee Retirement System, who threatened to vote out the entirety of upper management, the company reversed the policy.^{[citation needed]}

In July 2001, shareholders replaced Evins as CEO with Michael A. Woodhouse, who at the time was serving as the company's chief operating officer. Evins maintained his position as chairman of the board. The same year, the board voted unanimously to add sexual orientation to Cracker Barrel's non-discrimination policy, with the term officially being added the following year.^{[citation needed]}

In May 2004, the U.S. Department of Justice (USDOJ) announced it had settled a lawsuit alleging that Cracker Barrel employees at approximately 50 of the company's 500 locations discriminated against minority customers, including 50 stores located in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia that engaged in various discriminatory policies including racially segregated seating and service quality. In the settlement agreement Cracker Barrel pledged to implement a series of changes, including to strengthen and make public the company's non-discrimination policies, retrain and/or terminate employees in violation of the new policies, and pledged to focus on improving minority representation and civic involvement.^{[citation needed]}

A few months following the announcement, the company's board of directors (with the backing of shareholders), quietly voted to adopt a mandatory retirement age of 70 for all Cracker Barrel executives and board members. The implementation of this rule prompted company founder Evins, who was 69 at the time, to announce his retirement as chairman of the company's board. At the company's 2004 annual meeting, shareholders voted to reelect Michael A. Woodhouse as CEO, while also granting him Evins' title as chairman of the board, effectively merging the roles.^{[citation needed]}

By January 2012, Cracker Barrel had more than 67,000 employees working in more than 600 restaurants in 42 U.S. states.^[1][3][4]

On January 14, 2012, Evins died from bladder cancer at his daughter's home in Lebanon, Tennessee, at the age of 76.^[1]