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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 28, 1998)
Store brings down-home flavor to Lincolnites By Sarah Baker and Jason Hardy A&E Reporters Once again, Nebraska has made history. Not for winning a national champi onship, but by being the 34th state to have a Cracker Barrel Old Country Store. Cracker Barrel, a restaurant chain featuring country dinners and a nos talgic retail store, has traditionally focused its growth in southern states. But Patricia Brunicardi, market ing manager for Cracker Barrel, said the restaurant is expanding into new areas around the country. “We go where we think folks will like our restaurant,” she said. “We are most excited to be here in Lincoln.” Brunicardi said Cracker Barrel restau rants are traditionally located around inter state exits. “We have a lot of traveler business, but we .^fl22Z3flH55X££9fi5SitfHS? Cracker Barrel satisfies even pickiest cotton-pickers By Sarah Baker and Jason Hardy . Food eaters ' m There is nothin’ like fmishin’ the chores and settin’ down to din m ner in the country. % / Monday night we hitched up the mule and headed out to the | brand spankin’ new Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, 6700 N. 27*' St., for some eats. w Once in the door, we found ourselves amidst a knick-knack par ■ adise. 1 The country store is jam-packed with homey accessories that Tm we wouldn’t mind bringing back to the trailer, toys for the \ % chilluns, puzzles, games and candy. (The kind you’d find in the \ « glove box of your granddaddy’s pick-em-up truck.) i M Not to mention the banjoes, guitars, fiddles and corncob pipes. If you like to squeeze stuff, Cracker Barrel’s got you cov \ ered. There’s all sorts of different little squeeze-toys in the 1 shapes of cows, pigs and chickens. Heck, they even got some \ kick-ass eight-ball ones. ^^k^^ We were so wrapped up in the country store we almost f / As we moved along into (Jfcidil*n§aiea, we passed the-. jP y - V massive fireplace; man this thing was huuuuuuuuge! Hot also nave support from the local community, she said. The Lincoln store offers seating for more than 170 guests. The restaurants are modeled after turn of the cen tury country stores and feature more than 4,000 gift items. Each restaurant also has a fireplace with a stone hearth Local Lincoln residents said they were pleased to se the restaurant open its doors. “We’ve been waiting for it to open,” said Sandy Merry, Cracker Barrel customer. “We like the home cooking. It’ different than other places, and it has nice variety.” Other customers said they enjoyed the country store. “We like to look around the store,” said Diane Black, another customer. “We come here mostly to eat, but this does make a nice waiting area. The location is also nice.” Other customers came to the restaurant just for the store. “I didn’t know it was open, but I like it a lot,” said Don Van Arsdale, a shopper at Cracker Barrel. “I like the crafty stuff they have.” Van Arsdale said he enjoyed the shopping/waiting area at Cracker Barrel more than those of other restaurants. “It’s better than sitting in a bar,” he said. > Cracker Barrel Old Country Store is located at 6700 i, N. 27th St. Hours are Sunday-Thursday, 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., \ and Friday and Saturday, 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. /yf# 1 tOO. The walls were covered with different pictures, musical instruments, blankets, and a bunch of other stuff that can be found in my pappy’s shed ... you know, tools. We couldn’t help but notice the neighborly atmosphere. It was cozy with a sort of Applebee ’s-meets-the Flying- J-truckstop type of feel. The service was good despite one minor inconvenience, in which the waitress mistakenly brought us only one piece of combread. You can imagine the dispute that ensued at our table. That girl Sarah is crazy about some combread. The meal came, and Jason opted for the Country Dinner Plate made up of a fried chicken breast fillet, country green beans and a heap-hop pin’ mound of mashed ’taters. Oh, and gravy. Jason’s no gravy lover but he concluded “this is some gooo-oood mush.” He found the beans a bit lacking. \ Sarah had the grilled chicken tenderloins with whole-kernel com and some mashed ’taters, minus the gravy. We left full and feelin’ good, only about 20 pounds fatter. We thought the other highlights of the restaurant were die line of wicker-type rocking chairs in front of the place. We’re talkin’ rocking chair heaven! i Also, a big plus in our book was the RV parking lot in \ the rear. We’ll remember that next time. x * MattHaney/DN Deaf percussionist uses feet to please crowds By Barb Churchill Assignment Reporter , Renowned percussionist Evelyn Glennie is coming to town, and University of Nebraska-Lincoln Assistant Professor of Percussion John DeStefano couldn’t be happier. “It’s great to have Evelyn Glennie here. It’s great for the stu dents. It’s great for the faculty, and it’s a great opportunity for all music lovers,” DeStefano said. Glennie brings her dynamic solo actio Kimball Recital Hall Thursday at 8 p.m. as part of die Lied Center for Performing Arts season. Glennie is only 5 feet 2 inches tall, but is a power among percus sionists. Though still young, she has played with dozens of orchestras worldwide as a featured soloist, as well as having many pieces commis sioned specially for her. This is all the more notable because Glennie is deaf. Glennie lost her hearing at age 12 because of a nerve disorder. However, she already had started her musical training. Glennie decided to play barefoot, in order to “hear” the vibrations from her instruments. She continues that practice to this day. Glennie downplays her deafness, preferring to let her virtuosity speak for her. She was the first deaf student and solo percussionist at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where she won the Queen’s Commendation Prize for overall excellence. She said feeling the vibrations Glennie has been a frequent guest artist on television and radio. One of her notable recordings was ft 1989 Grammy winner with the late Sir Georg Solti (former conductor l laureate of the Chicago Symphony). had an autobiography I 1 ■pSi -f. ' £ j jLt ■ —*-:—— -\-\ *---7----— It’s great to have Evelyn Glennie here. It’s great for die students.”