‘Bar Rescue’ host Jon Taffer argues Cracker Barrel management needs to be ‘disempowered’ after rebrand catastrophe on ‘Varney & Co.’
After Cracker Barrel yanked “Uncle Herschel” from its brand in favor of recent textual content that some considered as too woke, the backlash was swift and livid. Prospects and influencers cried foul, and even President Donald Trump referred to as on the chain to undo the transfer, which it did late Tuesday.
“We thank our guests for sharing your voices and love for Cracker Barrel. We said we would listen, and we have. Our new logo is going away and our ‘Old Timer’ will remain. At Cracker Barrel, it’s always been – and always will be – about serving up delicious food, warm welcomes, and the kind of country hospitality that feels like family. As a proud American institution, our 70,000 hardworking employees look forward to welcoming you to our table soon,” the corporate mentioned in a message.
“Bar Rescue” host Jon Taffer, who is named a hospitality wiz, gave his tackle what went flawed and what he’d do if he was operating the corporate, beginning on the high.
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“The marketing people, the graphic people, the interior design people and the executives who get paid to understand their customer. They get paid to react to the likes of that customer. Every one of them completely blew it. So, as a CEO, the first thing I would do is get them all out of this. They should not be making any decisions going forward,” he advised FOX Enterprise’ Stuart Varney. “They should all be disempowered from making decisions going forward. Every single one of them,” he suggested.
Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Felss Masino stays in her function. She didn’t reply FOX Enterprise Digital’s questions on Thursday when requested in regards to the brand flip-flop exterior an organization workplace in Tennessee.
Ticker Safety Final Change Change % CBRL CRACKER BARREL OLD COUNTRY STORE INC. 59.82 -0.24
-0.40%
The 56-year-old model and the corporate’s market worth took a significant hit, shedding as a lot as $143 million on the peak of the disaster. As of Friday, these losses have been trimmed to $20.04 million. Shares recovered as nicely, down 1.48% from shut on Aug 18, 2025, as tracked by Dow Jones Market Knowledge Group.
Taffer honed in on the significance of the model.
“If you take a look at what the concept is, it has authenticity to it. Concepts that have authenticity need to be respected,” he mentioned. “What happened to Cracker Barrel is they tossed away their authenticity. They tossed away who they are.”
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Trump famous in a Reality Social publish earlier than the corporate determined to scrap the brand new brand that the misstep generated a lot “free publicity” for the restaurant chain.
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Taffer agreed with Trump’s take.
“What the president said is, in fact, true,” Taffer mentioned. “The entire country is watching and listening to this. Think of that opportunity.”
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“What if they said, ‘you know what, we’re going to put out five or six logos. We want you to vote on them. We’re going to put in three menu items. We’re not going to change the interior. We’re just going to make it better – we learned who we are,'” he added.
