You may have noticed that Cracker Barrel is doing something it hasn’t done in its 56 years: changing its look. This week, the restaurant chain rolled out a simplified logo as part of a new “All the More” rebrand. The rebranding will also involve decluttering dining rooms and revamping the menu.
Who knew that ditching the folksy image of a man resting by a barrel could cause an uproar, but it certainly has done just that. While “Uncle Herschel,” will disappear from the store’s sign, the company says he will remain “front and center in our restaurants and on our menu.”
Why people are upset
Removing the illustrated figure from the logo struck a nerve with longtime customers and even some public figures. Some opponents to the change argue that the redesign takes away the chain’s nostalgic character. Online backlash was swift and loud, and investors noticed. Thursday, as social media furor gained steam, Cracker Barrel shed almost $100 million in market value after its stock plunged.
Who’s behind the change?
Cracker Barrel’s CEO, Julie Felss Masino, is leading the popular restaurant chain’s rebranding effort. Masino became CEO in 2023 and is joined by Chief Marketing Officer Sarah Moore as the public faces of the rollout. The company has also appointed new creative partners to support the brand’s refresh.
Company messaging emphasizes upgrades to restaurants, merchandising, and marketing. It insists the logo is only one piece of a coordinated push to modernize, while still keeping the “country hospitality” for which the chain is famous.
Not just a new sign
Cracker Barrel has tied the visual refresh to menu updates and restaurant remodels. Executives have said the “All the More” campaign includes new fall menu items and tweaks to the dinner lineup. Customer-tested dishes will reappear or be reworked as part of the effort.
The company is positioning the changes as a way to reach new guests while holding onto the core value: hearty portions and affordable, homestyle cooking.
What supporters dislike
Beyond aesthetics, critics worry the change signals a loss of identity. To loyal customers, the old logo and the “old country store” were shorthand for a certain kind of comfort and tradition.
Cracker Barrel’s leadership has called the negative response a vocal minority and defended the work as respectful of the brand’s roots.
Why RVers care
Cracker Barrel isn’t just a restaurant chain for many RVers. It’s a practical overnight stop. The chain’s locations are often near major highways. This makes them a predictable and convenient place for RVers to eat after a long day of travel.
Many Cracker Barrel locations also offer free RV overnight parking as a courtesy to self-contained RV travelers. The expectation from both store staff and most RVers is simple: Don’t treat the lot like a campground. Eat in the restaurant or buy something from the gift store as a “thank you” for the hospitality.
How many RVtravel.com readers have ever spent the night in a Cracker Barrel parking lot? In a recent poll, see how many of our readers have done just that.
Your take?
No matter how you feel about the logo change, here’s hoping the company can continue to support RVers for many years to come. What do you think? Please leave a comment.
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RVT1223b
Absolutely horrible idea. Why can’t they just leave well enough alone? Focus on customer service and food quality. Quit trying to make it look modern.
Crackerbarrel is a business and they have the right to change anything they want. You, on the other hand, have the right not to patronize them if you find that changing their logo is offensive. Crackerbarrel dropped my favorite item from the menu, but I still go there. I don’t see how a changed logo is going to affect customer service or food quality.
And their value dropped by$94 million in one day. That’s not a vocal minority.
I never said it was a vocal minority. All I said was private business has a right to make its own decisions.
That’s obvious. Also obvious is that customers have the right to comment.
Cracker Barrel leadership said complainers were a vocal minority, not Carl.
It’s not a “private” business. They have stockholders and are traded on a public exchange. If you had lost 94 million of my money your a.s would be gone yesterday without a severence
Scary how the stock market is affected so easily.
If I had stock in the company, I would have sold also. If it is not broke, don’t fix it going woke!
It’s not just the changed logo, they also removed the old signs and things on the walls. It doesn’t have the cozy look anymore.
*Cracker Barrel….2 words.
Carl, it’s what they stand for and your dollar supporting them. Sorry, scratch them off my list like Budweiser and Target.
I really don’t care. I like Cracker Barrel but I don’t stop too often. The sign, logo, or building appearance will not determine whether I stop in the future.
bring back grandpa!!
Modernize the Old Country Store? I’m sure that will bring in young, cool, hip people. Great idea.
You mean the “me ” generation.
Maybe they plan to start selling POT in their stores. Laced Brownies. That’ll bring in the young ones.
Might just be the start of the chain going downhill. Time will tell as change has caused a lot of others to disappear.
Any branding change, especially in a well established brand, should be thoroughly tested to ensure it will improve future revenue opportunity and expand your customer base. Always be cognizant of protecting your existing customer set when trying to attract new customers. Failure to do so can be disastrous. Ask Coca Cola, Jaguar and Harley Davidson…
Cracker Barrel is probably looking to its future with the changes by being proactive.it is a business and attracting customers keeps it in business. They have good food and good staff, we get a safe place to overnight in our trailer. Sounds like a good deal for both sides!
I keep seeing this topic splattered all over the media. What I don’t see is how it is so newsworthy. To me, it’s more like “OK, so what”. Right up there with McDonalds changes the shape of their ice cubes. Sad reflection of the direction our society has taken.
Majoring on the minors!
No, it would be more like removing the golden arches.
I like the cleaner font of the logo and the new shape is okay but they should keep Uncle Herschel, chair and barrel.
Change is good, change is your friend. But I always wonder why mess with something that’s clearly working,
In recent articles, Cracker Barrel reports they are losing their customer base which consistently tracks “older”. With sales declining, they are making an effort to attract a younger clientele. Thus, the logo change. If it works, good for them. If it doesn’t…who knows. I am a repeat customer not because of the logo but because I like the food and prices.
Well, that settles it! We’ll be spending a night at a Cracker Barrel for our upcoming trip.
They should work on keeping the size of the food portions consistent. One time you get a nice portion, then the next time it’s smaller. I hate going to Cracker Barrel because they always have something nice in their store. I end up buying.
Me, too, mrpavet! I appreciate knowing that I’m not the only one.
I figured that since us Old Folks are slowly dying off, Cracker Barrel is modernizing to get the attention of the younger generation. Never mind that WE are the ones who made them successful. My wife & I have tried to set the Guiness Book of world Records, and have eaten at over 200 locations during our 25+ years of RVing. Then we stopped counting. We will miss the familiar logo, but I also miss my 56 Chevy.
Walt, us ‘old folks’ aren’t slowly dying off! We’re becoming the largest demographic! I’m 78 and just bought my first motorhome, 38′ Class A diesel pusher. I plan on driving it for years to come. I’m from Southern California and lived in Georgia for 15 years and never passed up a Cracker Barrel … it reminded me of Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, CA.
BTW…. That ’56 Chevy is STILL a VERY popular car… just the way it was in ’56! Go find another one and drive it to a Cracker Barrel 🙂
If it’s not broke don’t fix it!
Well, for those who care about facts and reality, Cracker Barrel’s stock is less than a third of its value from 7-8 years ago. And that means they’re struggling to produce value for their customers and market valuation reflects that. Feelings don’t make for good balance sheets. The don’t change what ain’t broke mentality is why Sears, Kmart etc are gone or almost gone.
You got it Larry.
It’s hard for me, and many others my age or older, to see so many things changing. But every new generation has its likes and dislikes and as a business, if you don’t change you go under.
I doubt that giving a modern facelift to the Old Country Store is the solution to the problem. The focus should be on improving value and service for the customers. I’m sorry to say I haven’t seen that yet.
“Cracker Barrel’s leadership has called the negative response a vocal minority”
”Cracker Barrel shed almost $100 million in market value after its stock plunged.”
Big minority!
won’t go back to our old favorite. The group they’re trying to appeal to won’t support them. Bye bye Crackerbarrel
Pandering to the wrong crowd, like so many businesses seem to think they need to nowadays. If it ain’t broke, why fix it? They’ve even taken some of the good stuff off the menu over the years. Last time I ate at a CB, the food was okay, but nothing to write home about.
Food still good? Locations still open? Employees still friendly? I couldn’t care less about the logo. Let’s see a year from now if anyone even remembers this truly horrific event. CT
Don’t Care. It is nobody’s business but the company. Really, are you not going to eat there because they changed their sign? Get a real life.
What is refreshing about their rebrand? Sounds like 2 feminists have an ax to grind with the old man. Go woke, go broke – it’s a great business model.
Cracker Barrel is Cracker Barrel is Cracker Barrel regardless of their logo. As a customer, I don’t much care about their logo. It doesn’t matter. I’ll still patronize CB for their excellent menu and quality of their food.
There is always a fine line between trying to ‘modernize’ and retain/increase market share. While many are upset about the logo being stripped bare, few if any of them know the details regarding the company’s financial performance trajectory. History tells us that those in charge have varying results after ‘resetting’ marketing efforts. The changes inside the restaurant may have positive impacts, or… they may become the ‘New Coke’. Time will tell.
Don’t go there for the sign. We go for the place to stop and the food. We couldn’t care less about the sign!!
“Cracker Barrel has experienced a decline in revenue growth, reporting a slight increase of only 0.8% from the previous year, with net income dropping significantly from $99 million in 2023 to $40.9 million in 2024.”
Is the stock plunge directly due to anger over rebranding OR did the rebranding effort suddenly bring to light a less-than-favorable financial future?
Rebranding occurs when a business needs to change to survive…not when the current model sustains growth and profitability.
Not saying right or wrong, just saying…
I read earlier today that Blackrock and another huge investments firm (Vanguard??? I don’t recall) own a big part of Cracker Barrel. This was in one of the articles discussing the recent changes but I don’t recall the website, but that, along with the recent “updates” is enough to keep me out of Cracker Barrel, although I have always loved the aesthetic and the food at Cracker Barrel.
They should have put the redesign on their website and asked for opinions. Or maybe built a new store or remodeled an old one to see whether the public liked it or not.
We have crossed the country numerous times (from California) to the East Coast. My kids would make bets as to how many Cracker Barrels (CB) we would stop at. They also made fun of the fact that we used a CB map to time our travels so we would be near a CB when meal time arrived. The food was always great and plenty of it. My wife did Christmas shopping in the store. We stayed overnight a couple of times. I disagree wholeheartedly with the changes they are making. We like the old-timey feel. Of course, we have one of the rockers!
“If it ain’t broke don’t fix it!” as the saying goes. Nothing needs to be done to Cracker Barrel. We enjoy the food, seeing all the old “relics” hanging around and on the shelves bringing back memories of our childhood. Leave the history of our lifetimes and the memories we have alone.
Unfortunately, the Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ+ advocacy organization, and BlackRock are responsible for this rebranding. It seems that Southern hospitality and its symbols are not welcomed by these folks. Sadly this is totally political and will ultimately kill this restaurant chain as their stock has already taken a huge nose dive since this announcement.
Many have stated on other social media platforms it’s a case of go Woke, go broke.
In my opinion, bankruptcy is less than one year away. RVers will be looking for a new place to stop.
The last few times we dined at a Cracker Barrel, we noticed that the portions were, in some cases, considerably smaller but their prices certainly hadn’t shrunk. We figure that if they are also going to “modernize” the menu, then we will no longer be customers. Poor Uncle Hershel is certainly scratching his head. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
Go woke, go broke!
Remember New Coke? Bud Light? Target? Gap? Tropicana orange juice? Changes that don’t reflect the desires of the customer base are doomed.
And this last year, “new Dawn”! That’s right, the dish soap smells different and the perfumes linger on your dishes longer! (It’s true, google it.) Many customers are ditching it because it’s overpowering–I’m ditching it because my plastic dishes (and travel mug tops) still smell like it days later and it ruins my coffee and water. Apparently people complained to Dawn and they said “naw we’ll keep the new formula”.
Thank you for bringing this news, Gail, and it is news to me. Saddening and disappointing news at that. Founded in Middle Tennessee, even though I am an East Tennesean, I took pride that it was a Tennessee restaurant. Now? Not so much. Makes me think of “new” Coke from the last century. I wonder if this will get “fixed” as quickly as “new” Coke disappeared, or if it gets “fixed” at all. Frankly, we rarely eat out and have only overnighted at three in the 8 years we’ve traveled. So, I doubt that my absence will be noted. Have a great weekend and safe travels!
FAFO. Seems like another “woke” idea. They won’t be getting anymore of my business. Don’t fix what isn’t broken!!
Nope, won’t be going there ever again. We don’t go for that “woke” stuff.
BIG mistake!! HUGE!! Rule #1: If it ain’t broke don’t fix it!” Is Julie too young to have learned from “New Coke” or even the “Bud Light” fiasco??!! She should be fired and this incredibly stupid “update” reversed. The cost of the marketing changes and cost of the market reaction must be costing Crackle Barrel tens of MILLIONS of dollars (better spent elsewhere), and for what!? Is this just Julie’s failed attempt at imprinting her mark as the new CEO? …. If so, she certainly accomplished that… they’ll be talking about this mistake for years to come.
This is also very bad timing with the cultural shift occurring as the country ‘hankers’ (term intentionally used) back to ‘the good ol’ days.”
Or New Coke.
I never thought the food was better than just average.
If you want more people to come to your restaurant, then make the food better. Changing the logo does nothing to bring in new customers. Having a killer prime rib at a reasonable price will.
I agree. I don’t see why people rave about the food. It’s not any different than most big chain restaurants. Frozen, processed and reheated.
Search for “is cracker Barrel food fresh”.
I’d rather visit a good old fashioned hometown diner with freshly made food and REAL mashed potatoes and french fries and soup that doesn’t come out of a can.
Cracker Barrels big draw is the gift shop. They make more money selling trinkets than they do on food.
I have one about a mile and a half from my home but I stopped going there after their Rewards crap. They also have changed the menu and eliminated a couple items we enjoyed going there for. Then they decided to sanitize the restaurants by taking all of the nostalgia out. We haven’t visited them since early 2024 and don’t plan to anytime soon.
More D.E.I. ruining another iconic brand! How’s Budweiser doing with their own efforts, or Target?
Couldn’t care less.
Don’t fix what is not broke. The youngester’s now in charge of this “fix” don’t realize who and why their customer base show up and give them money.
Sounds like you may be in the Plumbing profession and after 60 years in said profession I totally agree about the difficulty of trying to reposition the said product back where it belongs.
what a sad time people get so upset by this and administrations tweet about it. Save the kids