The restaurant chain has been working for months to regain the trust of diners after fans accused the company of abandoning its roots.
WASHINGTON — Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Felss Masino said Tuesday that the company’s controversial logo redesign — which sparked widespread backlash and accusations of abandoning tradition — was never meant to be political.
According to reporting by the Wall Street Journal, Masino was speaking at the 13D Monitor Active-Passive Investor Summit in New York when she said the company’s goal was simply to make its logo more visible on highway billboards, not to signal any kind of ideological shift.
“It wasn’t meant to be ideological,” Masino said, adding that the change was part of a broader effort to modernize the brand and position it for long-term success.
Cracker Barrel for a short time replaced its decades-old logo — featuring a man in overalls leaning against a barrel — with a simplified design showing only the company’s name. The decision, announced in August, drew swift criticism from longtime fans and even President Donald Trump, who accused the chain of abandoning its Southern roots.
The company reversed the change later that month, with the Wall Street Journal reporting that they also dropped the marketing firm that advised on the rebrand, and halted several store remodels that had already adopted the more modern aesthetic.
Masino, who joined Cracker Barrel after leadership roles at Starbucks and Taco Bell, has been leading a three-year transformation plan that includes menu innovation, kitchen upgrades, and store renovations aimed at attracting younger customers.
But the backlash has dealt a blow to the chain’s efforts.
Cracker Barrel said restaurant traffic fell significantly following the logo controversy, after being down just 1% earlier in August. Shares have fallen about 30% year to date, bringing the company’s market cap to roughly $825 million.
Masino said during a September investor call that while data guided the redesign, what the company underestimated was how deeply customers identified with the brand’s imagery and atmosphere.
“What cannot be captured in data is how much our guests see themselves and their own story in the Cracker Barrel experience,” she said.
The Lebanon, Tennessee-based company said it will continue focusing on nostalgia-driven marketing and its loyalty program, which has now grown to 9 million members.
To help win back guests, Cracker Barrel leaned into comfort and tradition — offering $5 all-you-can-eat pancakes for National Pancake Day and free sides for football fans throughout September.
“We’re moving ahead with a strong plan to regain traffic and the momentum we had a month ago,” Masino said Tuesday. “There is a lot to be optimistic about.”
