{{Short description|American entrepreneur and founder of Cracker Barrel}} {{Infobox person | name = Dan Evins | image = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = October 11, 1935 | birth_place = Smithville, Tennessee, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|2012|1|14|1935|10|11}} | death_place = Lebanon, Tennessee, U.S. | death_cause = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | other_names = | known_for = Cracker Barrel founder | alma_mater = Auburn University | employer = | occupation = Businessman | spouse = Donna Singleton Evins | children = Daina Warren, Meacham Evins, Kate Page, Betsy Jennings, Joe L Evins ll | parents = | relatives = James Edgar Evins<small>(paternal grandfather)</small><br>Joe L. Evins<small>(paternal uncle)</small> }} '''Danny Wood Evins''' (October 11, 1935 – January 14, 2012) was an American entrepreneur and founder of Cracker Barrel, a Southern-themed restaurant chain.
==Early life== Evins was born in Smithville, Tennessee, on October 11, 1935, the youngest child of Estelle McCartney and William Jackson Evins.<ref name=wp/> As a child he graduated from Castle Heights Military Academy in Lebanon, Tennessee.<ref name = ld>{{cite news |last=Felkins |first=Jared |date=November 8, 2013 |title=Cracker Barrel sells Mitchell House to fraternity |url=http://www.lebanondemocrat.com/Business/2013/11/07/Cracker-Barrel-sells-Mitchell-House-to-fraternity |newspaper=Lebanon Democrat |location=Lebanon, Tennessee |access-date=May 2, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170807235239/http://www.lebanondemocrat.com/Business/2013/11/07/Cracker-Barrel-sells-Mitchell-House-to-fraternity |archive-date=August 7, 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> He enlisted in the US Marine Corps and attended Auburn University.<ref name=wp/>
==Career== Evins also worked as an aide for his uncle, U.S. Rep. Joe L. Evins, before taking a position with his family's oil company.<ref name=wp/>
Evins founded Cracker Barrel in 1969 while he was working for Shell Oil. He opened the first restaurant in Lebanon, Tennessee, on Tennessee State Route 109.<ref name=wtvf/> He borrowed $40,000 to construct the first Cracker Barrel, which turned a profit just one month after opening.<ref name=nytimes/>
Evins was the chief executive officer (CEO) of Cracker Barrel from its founding in 1969 to 2001, and after a shareholder exodus due to his discriminatory policies, he was chairman of the board from 2001 until his retirement in 2004.<ref name=wtvf/> During this time he was also served as chairman of the board of directors for Castle Heights Military Academy while his son was enrolled in the school.<ref name = ld/>
In 1998, Evins led the drive by Cracker Barrel to purchase and restore the Mitchell House in Lebanon, Tennessee. The home had been a dormitory for elementary age students while Castle Heights Military Academy had been operating.<ref name = ld/> The company spent two million dollars to restore the home and make it the company's corporate office.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.manousdesign.com/pl_comm_mitchel1.html|title=Mitchell House, Cracker Barrell|publisher=Manous Design}}</ref>
==Views and retirement== During the early 1990s, Evins instituted an official company policy prohibiting the hiring of openly gay individuals. Following backlash from large shareholders from progressive areas, such as the New York City Employee Retirement System, who threatened to vote out the entirety of upper management, the company reversed the policy.<ref name=wtvf/>
In July 2001, shareholders replaced Evins as CEO with Michael A. Woodhouse, who at the time was serving as the company's chief operating officer. Evins maintained his position as chairman of the board. The same year, the board voted unanimously to add sexual orientation to Cracker Barrel's non-discrimination policy, with the term officially being added the following year.{{cn|date=August 2022}}
A few months later, Evins announced his retirement as chairman of the company's board. At the company's 2004 annual meeting, shareholders voted to reelect Michael A. Woodhouse as CEO, while also granting him Evins' title as chairman of the board, effectively merging the roles.{{cn|date=August 2022}}
By January 2012, Cracker Barrel had more than 67,000 employees working in more than 600 restaurants in 42 U.S. states.<ref name=wp>{{cite news|first=Emily|last=Langer|title=Dan Evins, founder of Cracker Barrel highway empire, dies |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/dan-evins-founder-of-cracker-barrel-highway-empire-dies/2012/01/16/gIQAfkt43P_story.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=2012-01-16 |accessdate=2011-01-28}}</ref><ref name=wtvf>{{cite news|title=Cracker Barrel's Founder Dan Evins Dies At 76|url=http://www.newschannel5.com/story/16525580/cracker-barrels-founder-dan-evins-dies-at-76|work=WTVF|date=2012-01-15|accessdate=2012-01-28|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118032334/http://www.newschannel5.com/story/16525580/cracker-barrels-founder-dan-evins-dies-at-76|archive-date=2012-01-18}}</ref><ref name=nytimes>{{cite news|first=Douglas|last=Martin|title=Danny Evins, Restaurant Founder and Focus of Controversy, Dies at 76 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/17/business/danny-evins-restaurant-founder-and-focus-of-controversy-dies-at-76.html|work=The New York Times |date=2012-01-16|accessdate=2012-01-28}}</ref>
==Personal life== On January 14, 2012, Evins died from bladder cancer at his daughter's home in Lebanon, Tennessee, at the age of 76.<ref name=wp/>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Evins, Dan}} Category:1935 births Category:2012 deaths Category:American company founders Category:Businesspeople from Tennessee Category:Shell plc people Category:American chief executives in the food industry Category:American chairpersons of corporations Category:Auburn University alumni Category:Deaths from bladder cancer in Tennessee Category:20th-century American businesspeople Category:People from Smithville, Tennessee Category:People from Lebanon, Tennessee Category:United States Army personnel of the Korean War