Several Chattanooga-area Cracker Barrel Old Country Stores will participate in a pilot project to install electric vehicle chargers at locations across Tennessee, building on a Chattanooga trend of moving toward greener transportation, company officials said.
Installation should begin in the spring and will take "a few months," the company said.
The plan could charge up business at the chain known for rocking chairs and comfort food, said Michael Woodhouse, Cracker Barrel chairman and CEO.
"In the early days, Cracker Barrel provided food for our guests and fuel for their cars," Woodhouse said.
As part of the $230 million Department of Energy EV Project, Cracker Barrel will receive 12 DC Fast Chargers from Arizona-based Ecotality, the company tasked with supplying the taxpayer-subsidized equipment.
Ecotality also will supply 12 of the slower Level 2 chargers, for a total of 24 that will dot the highways connecting Chattanooga, Nashville and Knoxville.
"A guest could, if desired, drive the entire 425 miles of the Tennessee Triangle, recharging at Cracker Barrel locations along the way," Cracker Barrel said in a news release.
Only 12 locations have been identified so far out of the total 24, including Athens, Cleveland, East Ridge, and Murfreesboro, the chain said. The other 12 sites will be announced as the project progresses, spokeswoman Julie Davis said.
The lack of charging stations, along with the high cost of vehicles, are major hurdles to the spread of electric vehicle technology, according to The Associated Press.
Ecotality said most Cracker Barrel eateries' proximity to highway interchanges makes them an ideal fit for the charging stations. About 40 percent of Cracker Barrel customers are travelers, Davis said.
This latest step marks a "return to the company's roots," Davis said.
"Back in 1969, [founder] Danny Evins was a oil jobber, looking for a way to sell more gasoline," she said.
While driving his family to the zoo, it occurred to him that if he opened up a restaurant along the way, people would stop on their way, she said.
Electric car owners will be able to get a full charge in less than 30 minutes at the 12 DC fast-charging stations. Chargers at the other 12 locations will take two to three hours, depending on the vehicle's charge level, according to Ecotality.
The company plans to charge by the minute for the service, but price is still being calculated, Davis said Tuesday.
Through its EV project, Ecotality has said it will oversee the installation of 15,000 charging stations in 16 cities and major metropolitan areas in six states and the District of Columbia. The project will provide infrastructure to support the deployment of 8,300 electric vehicles, some of which will become available in December.
Cracker Barrel, based in Lebanon, Tenn., also is shelling out an undisclosed amount of money to help with installation of its chargers and to upgrade transformers, according to The AP.
Its shares fell $1.42, or 2.63 percent, to $52.66 at the end of trading on Tuesday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Contact Ellis Smith at esmith@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6315. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ellisthered.