Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. Praises Law Enforcement Officials for Arresting ‘Mouse Lady’

The president and chief operating officer of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc., today praised law enforcement officials in Virginia for the investigation that resulted in the arrest of a woman who tried to extort money from the company by claiming she found a mouse in her soup.

“Because of the efforts of the dedicated law enforcement officers in Newport News, this woman has been exposed in her effort to extort money from our company,” Donald M. Turner, president and COO of the Lebanon, Tennessee- based restaurant chain, said in a statement. “Our company owes a debt of gratitude to Newport News Commonwealth Attorney Howard E. Gwynn, his Chief Deputy Shannon O. McEwen and his staff, and Police Captain H. Marvin Evans, and his detectives and officers, for their successful investigation and arrest of this woman and her son.”

The woman, Carla Patterson of Hampton, Va., was having lunch at the company’s restaurant with her two sons, when she claimed to have discovered a dead mouse in her soup. Store management immediately isolated the soup and the company stopped serving it nationally. Over the next two weeks, Mrs. Patterson had repeated contact with Cracker Barrel’s Home Office and ultimately she and her son demanded a large sum of money in exchange for photographs of the mouse and a public confession that her son had planted the dead animal.

“We took this matter very seriously right from the start,” Turner said, “and conducted a complete investigation that included inspections by the health department and laboratory tests on the mouse. The health and safety of our guests and employees are of primary concern, and so we had to find out the truth. And the truth is that our extensive quality controls and high standards in food preparation and service make it virtually impossible for something like this to happen unless it is the result of fraud.”

“These false allegations were damaging to the outstanding record for excellent food and service that Cracker Barrel has earned with its customers over the years,” Turner said. “Our store managers and employees work very hard every day to provide our guests with the best possible food and service,” Turner added. “Employees at the store targeted by the Pattersons for their extortion attempt, and our employees throughout the nation, were upset by the publicity given to this woman’s claims.”

Cracker Barrel’s employees around the country endured three weeks of negative publicity and jokes as the company worked with law enforcement officials to properly expose the fraud and clear the company’s reputation. Today’s arrest of the Pattersons for extortion validates the efforts by all Cracker Barrel employees to continue providing excellent food and service, even during challenging times.

“The quality of our food and service — and the health and safety of our guests and employees — always have been and always will be the highest priorities at Cracker Barrel,” Turner said. “Furthermore, we will do what it takes to prosecute people who make false and inflammatory claims that damage Cracker Barrel’s good name.”

About Cracker Barrel

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of the publicly held CBRL Group, Inc. . Cracker Barrel was established in 1969 in Lebanon, Tennessee.

Each Cracker Barrel Old Country Store is modeled after an authentic country store, featuring old photographs, antiques, memorabilia, and a real woodburning fireplace with a stone hearth to add a warm cozy touch to the dining room. The restaurant serves up hearty meals of such comfort foods as meatloaf and homemade chicken n’ dumplins, and the biscuits are made from scratch using an old family recipe. The retail store has over 2,700 gift items including accessories for the home, old-fashioned candies, books on audio, nostalgic items, and children’s games and puzzles.

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. operates 500 company-owned units in 41 states. Every Cracker Barrel is open seven days a week with hours Sunday through Thursday, 6 a.m. – 10 p.m., and Friday and Saturday 6 a.m. – 11 p.m.