Sandy Cochran: Let’s say, try to think how to — right now, I feel good that we will be able to open within the range, but the environment in terms of construction and all of that and equipment and so on is still — there’s still a lot of uncertainty. So I guess, we could have some slippage as we have construction delays and so on. In terms of what we look for, and I’m pleased with the openings that we have had, we’ve been concentrating in Florida, Texas. We opened one, I think I mentioned in Georgia. And so far, I’m comfortable and pleased with the progress we’re making. What we’re looking for is — we are opening in a variety of real estate locations. So we’re trying to understand better as we build our model of what works and what doesn’t.
But I’m also looking forward to John MacGuire building his team out. One of the constraints to growth will be whether we think we have the resources and the infrastructure to support the growth in terms of managers and that kind of thing, and I’m very pleased with the progress that the team over there is making in putting that kind of infrastructure in place.
Brian Mullan: Thank you.
Operator: The next question comes from Katherine Griffin with Bank of America. Please go ahead.
Katherine Griffin: Hi. Thank you. First, I was curious to hear a bit more about sort of what you mentioned earlier about leaning into digital and expanding loyalty program. I’m curious if you can just kind of put some more context to that, whether what the sort of objectives are? Is it getting the younger cohorts into the stores more frequently? Is it having access to customer data that you can leverage in some way. I think just more color on sort of the reason behind leaning into digital would be helpful.
Jennifer Tate: Sure. Hey, Katherine. It’s Jen. First, I would say this year, we’ve seen really solid results from the increase in targeted digital marketing that we have done amongst our — the younger skewing segment. So we’ve been leveraging the great insights we’ve had from our segmentation study and enhancing the amount and quality of the targeted digital marketing that we’ve been doing with those groups, and we’re seeing that, I think, pay out as we’ve grown frequency amongst those groups. Now loyalty, our objectives are really 3 times. I think, first and foremost, it’s to drive frequency and traffic really with all of our cohorts, but we definitely have heard in all the research we’ve done, that our younger guests are very, very interested in desiring a loyalty rewards program.
The second objective, of course, is to delight our guests and build loyalty over time to have a differentiated program, which I think we can do because we have this unique brand, very experiential that includes both a restaurant and a very special retail experience, so to build loyalty. And finally, and maybe even most importantly, just to unlock the power of that data for everything we do, whether that’s fueling our innovation pipeline, our — obviously, our marketing and everything we do. So I think that is — those are the objectives of our loyalty program.
Katherine Griffin: Okay. Thank you. That’s helpful. And then I guess like sort of to layer on top of that, I’m curious, just if Cracker Barrel is kind of leaning into a newer, younger cohort that’s very different, perhaps from the 65 plus in terms of their purchasing behavior or what they like about the brand, how important value is to them. I’m wondering if there’s case to be made that you could maybe push price a little bit more on that customer base as opposed to your — the 65 plus is maybe pressured in different ways than a younger customer might be. And sort of how you think about how important value is to a newer mix of customers.
Jennifer Tate: Well, first, I’d say, whether you’re 65 or 25, the things that really attract people to their brand are very similar. They love the experiential nature of the brand. They live our food, they love the welcome. They just love the experiential part of the brand. When it comes to value, I think everybody loves getting a great deal. But what we are able to see is those younger guests are very open to the mix driving initiatives we’ve done. So they are very likely to try a crafted coffee like a late or if they’re over we can interest them in a Mimosa or one of our signature alcoholic beverages they opt into Barrel Bites, which are Shareables category, our premium size or desserts. So we have been able to entice them into those voluntary check builders. And so they are very likely to opt in to trying new things, higher priced entrees and of course, add-ons.
Katherine Griffin: Okay. Great. Thank you so much.
Jennifer Tate: Thanks.
Operator: This concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Sandy Cochran for any closing remarks.
Sandy Cochran: Thank you all for joining us today. I’m encouraged by our start of the year and remain confident in our plans to drive improved performance over the balance of the year. We appreciate your interest and support and wish you all a safe and happy holiday season.
Operator: Conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today’s presentation. You may now disconnect.
