Cracker Barrel hires longtime Marriott exec to be CIO

A three-decade veteran of Marriott International has joined Cracker Barrel Old Country Store as senior vice president and CIO.

In his new role, Bruce Hoffmeister is overseeing the information technology, security and digital strategies teams at Lebanon-based Cracker Barrel, which runs more than 660 restaurants across the country. He retired from Marriott in the middle of last year and was the hotel giant’s CIO for his last nine-plus years there. He also held senior sales, revenue management and lodging finance roles at the company.

Hoffmeister, who earned his MBA degree at Vanderbilt University Owen Graduate School of Management, takes over the CIO role at Cracker Barrel from Leon DeWet, who was in the position for nearly eight years until last March. DeWet had joined Cracker Barrel from fellow local dining chain O’Charley’s.

Shares of Cracker Barrel (Ticker: CBRL) fell about 1 percent to $157.15 Tuesday. They have risen about 15 percent since early September.