FOX Enterprise host Charles Payne exposes how the inventory market ‘says one thing fully totally different’ from Cracker Barrel’s CEO in regards to the chain’s emblem change on ‘Making Cash.’
Lower than every week after the Cracker Barrel CEO appeared on “Good Morning America” and made the rounds celebrating the corporate’s new emblem, the restaurant chain identified for its old-time really feel, southern dishes and eclectic present/sweet retailer, now admits it made a mistake.
Julie Masino boasted that the reception she acquired was very constructive and claimed that in a gathering with Florida location managers, the highest query requested of her was, “‘How can I get a remodel, when can I get a remodel, and how do I get on the list?'”
CRACKER BARREL ADMITS IT ‘COULD’VE DONE A BETTER JOB’ AFTER NEW LOGO BACKLASH
The brand new Cracker Barrel emblem on a menu contained in the restaurant on Aug. 21, 2025, in Homestead, Florida. ( Joe Raedle / Getty Photos)
“If the last few days have shown us anything, it’s how deeply people care about Cracker Barrel. We’re truly grateful for your heartfelt voices,” the corporate mentioned. “You’ve also shown us that we could’ve done a better job sharing who we are and who we’ll always be.”
The corporate mentioned what has not and “will never change” are the values Cracker Barrel was constructed on when the Lebanon, Tennessee-based chain opened in 1969.
Julie Felss Masino, who turned CEO on Nov. 1, 2023, maintains that the response to the adjustments has been overwhelmingly constructive. (Cracker Barrel)
These values, the assertion learn, are “hard work, family, and scratch-cooked food made with care.”
CRACKER BARREL EXECUTIVE INSISTS RESTAURANT REMODELS ARE ‘WHAT THE GUESTS ASKED FOR’
The assertion additionally made certain to push one of many restaurant’s staples: its meals.
“Meatloaf, chicken n’ dumplins, country fried steak, sides that taste like Sunday supper, and yes, the world’s best pancakes, they’re all still here, with a few new dishes joining the menu. Whether you’re a long-time fan or a first-time guest, we want you to feel at home around our table,” the assertion learn. “We also want to be sure Cracker Barrel is here for the next generation of families, just as it has been for yours.”
A former Cracker Barrel worker, Erik Russell, now a model designer, mentioned the corporate was committing “brand suicide.”
“There is no such thing as ‘just a logo,’” Russell mentioned. “When you first draw a logo, it doesn’t matter how good that logo is technically, right? It doesn’t mean anything. What makes a logo meaningful and what makes branding meaningful is the connection that it represents to your customers.”
A Cracker Barrel restaurant in Dumfries, Virginia. (Nathan Howard/Bloomberg / Getty Photos)
Jeff Rifkin, the inventive director and proprietor of Destroy, wrote in a LinkedIn submit, “Here’s what really stings: This isn’t just bad design. It’s a message. It says: ‘We don’t care about our core audience. We’re too busy trying to appeal to everyone and satisfying no one.’ Cracker Barrel used to be a road trip staple. A place that my wife, I, and countless others relied on. Now? It’s generic, confusing, and hollow.”
He continued: “This is why rebrands fail. Stop trying to be for everyone. Stop erasing what made people love you. Stop pretending your ‘modern update’ is smart.”
Final week, shortly after the backlash ensued, Cracker Barrel instructed FOX Enterprise in an announcement that whereas the emblem modified, the corporate’s values hadn’t, and that Uncle Herschel McCartney, uncle of the corporate’s founder, Dan Evins, and Cracker Barrel’s goodwill ambassador, “remains front and center in our restaurants and on our menu.”
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
The corporate mentioned the redesign is a fair greater nod to its authentic roots.
“Cracker Barrel has been a destination for comfort and community for more than half a century, and this fifth evolution of the brand’s logo, which works across digital platforms as well as billboards and roadside signs, is a call-back to the original and rooted even more in the iconic barrel shape and word mark that started it all back in 1969,” the corporate mentioned.
When Cracker Barrel opened its first location in 1969, the emblem consisted solely of a text-only design, that includes the identify “Cracker Barrel.”
FOX Enterprise reporters Greg Wehner and Rachel Wolf contributed to this report.
