Cracker Barrel Crack up
Page 1 of 1 [ 1 post ]
ASPartOfMe
Veteran
Joined: 25 Aug 2013
Age: 68
Gender: Male
Posts: 39,637
Location: Long Island, New York
29 Aug 2025, 12:22 pm
Cracker Barrel Scraps New Logo, Keeps ‘Old Timer’ After Backlash
Quote:
Cracker Barrel has decided to roll back its controversial new logo and keep its “Old Timer” leaning against that barrel.
A week after the company unveiled its new look — which didn’t sit well with customers — it announced on its website that the “new logo is going away.”
“We thank our guests for sharing your voices and love for Cracker Barrel. We said we would listen, and we have,” the Aug. 26 statement reads. “Our new logo is going away and our ‘Old Timer’ will remain.”
The company added, “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.”
Founded in 1969, the Tennessee-based company debuted its new and simpler logo on Aug. 19. This was the first time in 48 years that it did not include the man, known as Uncle Herschel, sitting down and leaning against a barrel. The company noted that it was the fifth version of its logo.
However, backlash ensued with customers of the restaurant chain not happy with the redesign. Shares of Cracker Barrel plunged 12%, losing $94 million in market value on Aug. 21. This marked one of the company's worst single day declines in years.
Cracker Barrel had also shared plans to remodel its restaurants, moving away from its signature, well-worn Southern look, toward more of a modern farmhouse aesthetic, which also sparked backlash.
The decision to keep its old logo came a day after Cracker Barrel responded to the backlash, noting in a lengthy Aug. 25 letter that it “could’ve done a better job.”
“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 company wrote. “You’ve also shown us that we could’ve done a better job sharing who we are and who we’ll always be.”
A week after the company unveiled its new look — which didn’t sit well with customers — it announced on its website that the “new logo is going away.”
“We thank our guests for sharing your voices and love for Cracker Barrel. We said we would listen, and we have,” the Aug. 26 statement reads. “Our new logo is going away and our ‘Old Timer’ will remain.”
The company added, “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.”
Founded in 1969, the Tennessee-based company debuted its new and simpler logo on Aug. 19. This was the first time in 48 years that it did not include the man, known as Uncle Herschel, sitting down and leaning against a barrel. The company noted that it was the fifth version of its logo.
However, backlash ensued with customers of the restaurant chain not happy with the redesign. Shares of Cracker Barrel plunged 12%, losing $94 million in market value on Aug. 21. This marked one of the company's worst single day declines in years.
Cracker Barrel had also shared plans to remodel its restaurants, moving away from its signature, well-worn Southern look, toward more of a modern farmhouse aesthetic, which also sparked backlash.
The decision to keep its old logo came a day after Cracker Barrel responded to the backlash, noting in a lengthy Aug. 25 letter that it “could’ve done a better job.”
“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 company wrote. “You’ve also shown us that we could’ve done a better job sharing who we are and who we’ll always be.”
Cracker Barrel quietly removes ‘out-of-date’ DEI and pride references from website
Quote:
“In connection with the Company’s brand work, we have recently made updates to the Cracker Barrel website, including adding new content and removing out-of-date content,” a Cracker Barrel spokesperson told CNN in a statement. “Several months ago, the Company also made changes to our Business Resource Groups that now focus all sponsorships or events on our corporate giving initiatives: addressing food insecurity, supporting community needs through food, and reducing food waste.”
The changes come after prominent anti-DEI activist Robby Starbuck called for Cracker Barrel to remove their LGBTQ+ and DEI references on its website. He then declared “total victory” in a post on X after the website changes were made.
Cracker Barrel’s decision to remove the section of the website also comes about four years after the company rolled out a logo celebrating diversity in 2021 following the protests in the wake of George Floyd’s death.
“This year we even unveiled a brand-new logo! Rather than just showing one person, we wanted to feature lots of people,” the company wrote on its website in a section about the logo. “The idea was to celebrate the diversity of all our guests with a logo that represented our continued passion for pleasing people of all races, colors, and genders.”
The website changes follow Cracker Barrel’s announcement on Aug. 26 that it was scrapping its new, text-only logo that removed the graphic of an old-timer in overalls leaning on a barrel while sitting in a chair.
Trump then applauded the company’s decision to revert to the previous logo.
“Congratulations ‘Cracker Barrel’ on changing your logo back to what it was,” he wrote on Truth Social. “All of your fans very much appreciate it.”
Ahead of the logo controversy, Cracker Barrel also drew complaints from some customers about its plans to remodel its rustic interior to a more modern look at about 60 of its 660 locations.
Cracker Barrel becomes the latest restaurant chain to roll back or eliminate DEI initiatives in the wake of pressure from Trump and conservatives. McDonald’s announced in January that it was sunsetting its DEI plans, following similar announcements by Walmart and Starbucks.
The changes come after prominent anti-DEI activist Robby Starbuck called for Cracker Barrel to remove their LGBTQ+ and DEI references on its website. He then declared “total victory” in a post on X after the website changes were made.
Cracker Barrel’s decision to remove the section of the website also comes about four years after the company rolled out a logo celebrating diversity in 2021 following the protests in the wake of George Floyd’s death.
“This year we even unveiled a brand-new logo! Rather than just showing one person, we wanted to feature lots of people,” the company wrote on its website in a section about the logo. “The idea was to celebrate the diversity of all our guests with a logo that represented our continued passion for pleasing people of all races, colors, and genders.”
The website changes follow Cracker Barrel’s announcement on Aug. 26 that it was scrapping its new, text-only logo that removed the graphic of an old-timer in overalls leaning on a barrel while sitting in a chair.
Trump then applauded the company’s decision to revert to the previous logo.
“Congratulations ‘Cracker Barrel’ on changing your logo back to what it was,” he wrote on Truth Social. “All of your fans very much appreciate it.”
Ahead of the logo controversy, Cracker Barrel also drew complaints from some customers about its plans to remodel its rustic interior to a more modern look at about 60 of its 660 locations.
Cracker Barrel becomes the latest restaurant chain to roll back or eliminate DEI initiatives in the wake of pressure from Trump and conservatives. McDonald’s announced in January that it was sunsetting its DEI plans, following similar announcements by Walmart and Starbucks.
Another indication America is f****d up. Turning a branding issue into a culture war Rorschach test.
Companies are always trying to adjust to change in consumer tastes. These adjustments almost always cause backlash. Most of the time after bitching they stay with the company or move on to another company. Today we have the option of looking at nostalgia websites and threads.
Every once in awhile a company underestimates how deep and widespread their customers are loyal to their established brands. Such was the case 40 years ago with the Coca Cola company. They believed that their traditional Coke soda brand was dated compared to Pepsi and that unless they did something radical their market share would wither away. They canceled the traditional Coke and replaced it with New Coke. What happened was blowback on steroids. The media ran stories and it was the topic of conversations for months on end. The company did a slow walk back at first bringing old Coke back as Classic Coke put on shelves alongside New Coke. After a few years New Coke was gone and it was just Coke again. Today outside of marketing classes and 80s retrospectives this controversy is forgotten.
What it wasn’t was political. Outside of a few cranks Coca Cola was viewed as a**holes not part of some nefarious takeover plot.
A few years back the term Woke Capitalism gained currency. In retrospect what it was and is, is snowflake capitalism. Cracker Barrel’s history in this regard is all too typical. A lot of these companies upon seeing massive protests in the wake of George Floyd’s murder panicked and used the ‘How To Be An Anti Racist’ book as a branding guide alienating many. Now with Trump 2.0 and the woke right ascendant we have these companies panicking again and getting rid anything hinting at diversity.
These companies need to stop acting like social media as important as it is as the be all and end all. This still boils down to well done Market Research.
MAGA’s did your parents not read to you the ‘Boy Cried Wolf’ story? Everything is not about you, believing so is called narcissism, believing the world moving on without you is a conspiracy is called paranoia.
I am not unempathetic about this. I am turning 68 next month. The marketing industry is convinced my demographic is too set in our ways to be sold to. The result is most products are not made with me in mind, most commercials make no sense to me and a lot of things I do understand seems harmful. It does suck sometimes.
One thing that I understand is making everything a fight for identify survival is harming America big time. That is why I remained anti woke when it doing so was seen as racism holding on to a lost cause. Another reason I stayed anti woke was an expectation that the overcorrection would be worse and here we are.
_________________
“Self Acceptance is a process not a performance”
“You are autistic enough. And you always have been”
Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity.
