EX-10.1



 Exhibit 10.1 

CRACKER BARREL OLD COUNTRY STORE, INC. 

and 
 SUBSIDIARIES

 FY 2016 ANNUAL BONUS PLAN 

ARTICLE I 
 General

 1.1 Establishment of the Plan. Pursuant to the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. 2010 Omnibus Stock and Incentive Plan (
the “Omnibus Plan”), the Compensation Committee (the “Committee”) of the Board of Directors of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (the “Company”) hereby establishes this FY 2016 Annual Bonus Plan (the
“ABP”). 
 1.2 Plan Purpose. The purpose of this ABP is to specify appropriate opportunities to earn a bonus with respect
to the Company’s 2016 fiscal year in order to reward officers of the Company and of its subsidiaries for the Company’s financial performance during fiscal year 2016 and to further align their interests with those of the shareholders of the
Company. 
 1.3 ABP Subject to Omnibus Plan. This ABP is established pursuant to, and it comprises a part of, the Omnibus Plan.
Accordingly, all of the terms of the Omnibus Plan are incorporated in this ABP by reference as if included verbatim. In case of a conflict between the terms and conditions of the ABP and the Omnibus Plan, the terms and conditions of the Omnibus Plan
shall supersede and control the issue. It is intended that the ABP shall in all respects be subject to and governed by the provisions of the Omnibus Plan and, except to the extent Annual Bonuses (as defined herein) are paid on an accelerated basis
pursuant to a Change in Control, that all Annual Bonuses paid to Covered Employees shall constitute qualified performance-based compensation under Section 162(m) of the Code. The terms of this ABP shall in all respects be so interpreted and
construed as to be consistent with this intention. 
 ARTICLE II 

Definitions 
 2.1
Omnibus Plan Definitions. Capitalized terms used in this ABP without definition have the meanings ascribed to them in the Omnibus Plan, unless otherwise expressly provided. 

2.2 Other Definitions. In addition to those terms defined in the Omnibus Plan and elsewhere in this ABP, whenever used in this ABP, the
following terms have the meanings set forth below: 
  

	 	(a)	“2016 Operating Income” means operating income for the 2016 fiscal year as calculated consistent with past practice and presented in the audited financial statements, subject to adjustment as follows:
excluding (i) extraordinary and/or non-recurring gains or losses and the effects of any sale of assets (other than in the ordinary course of business), (ii) litigation claims, settlements and expenses, (iii) the effects of any changes
in accounting principles, (iv) the effects of any charges or expenses related to extraordinary, non-operational charges or expenses relating to stockholder demands, inquiries or events and related governance and other responses, (v) the
effects of charges or expenses related to the Company’s organizational restructuring, and (vi) the effects of charges related to severance events. 









	 	(b)	“Annual Bonus” means the Award paid to a Participant after the Committee determines that the Performance Goal has been achieved and exercised its discretion in determining whether to pay the Eligible Bonus or
some different lower amount. 

  

	 	(c)	“Eligible Bonus” means an Award equal to a percentage of a Participant’s applicable annual base salary established within the first 90 days of the Performance Period or, in the case of new hires or
Participants who are promoted, established at the time of hiring or promotion and the portion of fiscal year 2016 for which the salary is applicable, consistent with those established for the same or similar position by the Committee within the
first 90 days of the Performance Period. 

  

	 	(d)	“Performance Goal” means achievement of 2016 Operating Income in an amount equal to or greater than an amount established by the Committee by resolution within the first 90 days of the Performance Period.


  

	 	(e)	“Performance Period” means the Company’s 2016 fiscal year. 

 ARTICLE III

 Eligibility; Calculation and Payment of Awards 

3.1 Plan Eligibility. The Participants in the ABP shall be those persons designated by the Committee during the first 90 days of the
Company’s 2016 fiscal year, and those hired or promoted during the fiscal year and at that time designated as Participants by the Committee. 

3.2 Bonus Eligibility. If the Performance Goal is achieved, each Participant shall be eligible to receive his or her Eligible Bonus.
The Annual Bonus, however, shall be determined by the Committee based upon such measures, if any, that the Committee in its discretion shall employ. 

3.3 Calculation and Payment of Awards. After the close of the Performance Period, the Committee shall certify in writing the
achievement of the Performance Goal and the amounts of any Annual Bonus payable to each Participant. No Annual Bonus shall be paid to any Covered Employee if the Performance Goal is not achieved. Any Annual Bonus due shall be paid in cash within a
reasonable time after certification of the achievement of the Performance Goal by the Committee and, in any event, on or prior to March 15, 2017. 

3.4 Committee Discretion; Limit on Awards. Subject to Section 3.2, the Committee shall have the discretion to establish the amount
of any Annual Bonus payable to any Participant, except that the Annual Bonus of any Covered Employee shall not exceed either his or her Eligible Bonus or the applicable Limitations set forth in the Omnibus Plan; provided, that in applying any of
such limitations, amounts payable under this ABP shall be considered prior to any other cash payments to a Participant. 
 ARTICLE IV

 Termination of Employment 

Except upon death or disability, if, prior to the certification of the Award as set forth in Section 3.3, a Participant’s employment
is terminated or the Participant voluntarily resigns, all of the Participant’s rights to an Annual Bonus shall be forfeited. If a Participant’s employment is terminated because of a Participant’s death or disability, the Eligible
Bonus shall be reduced to reflect only the period of employment prior to termination. The adjusted Award shall be based upon the number of days of employment during the Performance Period. In the case of a Participant’s disability, the
employment termination shall be deemed to have occurred on the date the Committee determines that the disability has occurred, pursuant to the Company’s then-effective group long-term disability insurance benefit for officers. Any Annual Bonus
thereafter determined by the Committee shall be payable at the time specified in Section 3.3. 

  
 2 








 ARTICLE V 

Change in Control 
 If a
Change in Control takes place during fiscal 2016, (i) the Performance Goal shall be deemed to have been met if the Company’s operating income through the end of the fiscal month preceding the Change in Control equals or exceeds 50% of the
Company’s operating income for the comparable period in the 2015 fiscal year, (ii) all Annual Bonuses established by the Committee shall be immediately payable in cash to Participants upon the date of the Change in Control (subject to any
election previously made by a Participant to defer receipt of such Bonus), and (iii) unless expressly terminated, this ABP shall continue in effect throughout the remainder of fiscal 2016 with the amount of any Bonuses payable at the end of
2016 reduced by the amount of any Bonuses paid upon the Change in Control. 
 ARTICLE VI 

Recoupment Policy 
 6.1
General Recoupment Policy. The Company may recover any incentive compensation awarded or paid pursuant to this ABP based on (i) achievement of financial results that were subsequently the subject of a restatement due to material
noncompliance with any financial reporting requirement under either GAAP or the federal securities laws, other than as a result of changes to accounting rules and regulations, or (ii) a subsequent finding that the financial information or
performance metrics used by the Committee to determine the amount of the incentive compensation were materially inaccurate, in each case regardless of individual fault. In addition, the Company may recover any incentive compensation awarded or paid
pursuant to this ABP based on a Participant’s conduct which is not in good faith and which materially disrupts, damages, impairs or interferes with the business of the Company and its affiliates. The provisions of this Article VI shall apply to
any incentive compensation earned or paid to a Participant pursuant to this ABP. Subsequent changes in status, including retirement or termination of employment, do not affect the Company’s rights to recover compensation under this policy. 

6.2 Administration of Policy. The Committee will administer this policy and exercise its discretion and business judgment in the fair
application of this policy based on the facts and circumstances as it deems relevant in its sole discretion. More specifically, the Committee shall determine in its discretion any appropriate amounts to recoup, the officers from whom such amounts
shall be recouped (which need not be all officers who received the bonus compensation at issue) and the timing and form of recoupment; provided, that only compensation paid or settled within three years prior to the Committee taking action under
this Article VI shall be subject to recoupment; provided further, that any recoupment pursuant to clause (i) or (ii) of the first sentence of this paragraph shall not exceed the portion of any applicable bonus paid hereunder that is in
excess of the amount of performance-based or incentive compensation that would have been paid or granted based on the actual, restated financial statements or actual level of the applicable financial or performance metrics as determined by the
Committee in its sole discretion. 
 6.3 Setoff. For avoidance of doubt, the Company may set off the amounts of any such required
recoupment against any amounts otherwise owed by the Company to a Participant as determined by the Committee in its sole discretion, solely to the extent any such offset complies with the requirements of Section 409A of the Code and the
guidance issued thereunder. 
 6.4 Other Adjustments. If any restatement of the Company’s financial results indicates that the
Company should have made higher performance-based payments than those actually made under the ABP for a period affected by the restatement, then the Committee shall have discretion, but not the obligation to cause the Company to make appropriate
incremental payments to affected Participants then-currently employed by the Company. The Committee will determine, in its sole discretion, the amount, form and timing of any such incremental payments, which shall be no more than the difference
between the amount of performance-based compensation that was paid or awarded and the amount that would have been paid or granted based on the actual, restated financial statements. 

  
 3