For generations across the South, black-eyed peas have been a fixture on New Year’s Day tables, long believed to bring good luck in the year ahead.

The dish carries what writer John Egerton once described as a “mystical and mythical power to bring good luck,” according to his book Southern Food: At Home, On the Road, In History. Alongside collard greens and cornbread, black-eyed peas became a cornerstone of the Southern New Year’s meal.

For years, Cracker Barrel served as a dependable stop for those looking to uphold the tradition away from home. Diners could order black-eyed peas with cornbread and classic country sides if they didn’t have a pot simmering on the stove.

That option, however, has quietly disappeared, the New York Post reports.

“We’re operating during our usual hours and serving our standard menu on New Year’s,” Cracker Barrel said in a statement. When asked specifically about black-eyed peas, the company did not respond.

Celebrity chef Jason Smith, a Kentucky native and Food Network personality, said the dish’s meaning stretches back to the Civil War. When Union troops raided Southern food supplies, black-eyed peas were often overlooked, supposedly dismissed as animal feed.

“That made them a staple food during a time of scarcity and eventually a symbol of good fortune,” Smith said. He added that affordability also helped cement their place at the table. “Black-eyed peas were cheap to buy and could feed a huge family.”

Paired with collard greens, associated with money, and cornbread, symbolizing gold, the dish became inseparable from New Year’s Day in the South.

The tradition extended beyond home kitchens to restaurants, including Tennessee-based Cracker Barrel. Last year, Cracker Barrel Chief Marketing Officer Sarah Moore told Fox News Digital that menu decisions balance regional traditions with the brand’s national footprint.

“We operate in 44 states,” Moore said in May. “That gives us a great opportunity to bring more localized flavors and regionality into our menu.” At the same time, she emphasized the importance of the chain’s identity built around “country comforts and classics.”

Moore also acknowledged the emotional pull of the New Year’s tradition. “I actually do make it every single year,” she said, noting her husband is from Kentucky. “It is something we will continue to look at as we build out our pipeline.”

Cracker Barrel has not commented on why black-eyed peas were dropped.

Rachel Love, a Tennessee mother and longtime Cracker Barrel fan, said the dish was a New Year’s staple in her family. “My mom would always have a pot of black-eyed peas simmering for good luck,” she said. “She’d say, ‘You don’t want to start the year off with bad luck.’”

During the years Cracker Barrel offered the peas, Love said her mother often ordered them as part of the Country Vegetable Plate.

Smith said he still turns to restaurants when he can’t make the dish himself, though fewer establishments carry on the tradition. “There aren’t many restaurants left that still partake in this age-old custom,” he said. “But they should.”