Cracker Barrel suspends modern restaurant renovations after ‘woke’ logo flap

Last month, Cracker Barrel ditched its new “woke” logo amid widespread backlash from many people, including President Trump, reverting instead to its longstanding illustration of an overall-clad “old timer” draping his arm over an actual barrel. Now the retro roadside chain has announced that it will stop renovating its restaurants as well.

“You’ve shared your voices in recent weeks not just on our logo, but also on our restaurants,” the company said on X. “If your restaurant hasn’t been remodeled, you don’t need to worry, it won’t be.”

The minimalist makeovers — lighter woods, fewer knickknacks on the walls — were part of a sweeping $700 million rebrand meant to lure new customers to the struggling chain. But just four of Cracker Barrel’s 660 locations were overhauled before CEO Julie Felss Masino and her team pulled the plug, presumably because patrons balked.

“We heard clearly that the modern remodel design does not reflect what you love about Cracker Barrel,” the company said in an expanded statement on its site. The chain went on to reassure customers that “the vintage Americana you love will always be here — the rocking chairs on the porch, our fireplaces and peg games, unique treasures in our gift shop and antiques pulled straight from our warehouse in Lebanon, Tennessee.”

Trump first weighed in on the controversy last month, urging Cracker Barrel to “go back to the old logo” and “admit a mistake based on customer response (the ultimate Poll).”

Citing his own experience in business and politics, the president framed the flap as a great opportunity to “manage the company better than ever before.”

Hours later, the company did just what President Trump suggested — a shift he celebrated by posting memes with his own likeness on the revived logo.

Cracker Barrel’s problems began mid-August when Masino and her team unveiled the new logo — a simple gold shield with the restaurant’s name in a brown, more contemporary font — as part of a planned transformation that also saw them flying social media influencers to Manhattan to visit a slick pop-up location and attend a country music concert.

Masino, a veteran of Starbucks and Taco Bell, was recruited to shake up the chain, which had been receiving middling marks on food, value, experience and convenience — and attracting 16% less traffic last year than in 2019.

But her recent move backfired spectacularly, sparking a culture war firestorm that saw some fans accusing Cracker Barrel of abandoning its Americana roots in favor of a sanitized — even “woke” — new look.

Masino “scrapped a beloved American aesthetic and replaced it with sterile, soulless branding,” snapped the Woke War Room on X. “She should resign and be replaced with leadership that will restore Cracker Barrel’s tradition.”

The criticism quickly became political after Donald Trump Jr. shared the Woke War Room’s message. Soon conservative activists were accusing Cracker Barrel board members of being DEI activists and telling followers they must “break the Barrel” through boycotts.

Even rival chain Steak ‘n Shake said on X that it “would never market ourselves away from our past in a cheap effort to gain the approval of trend seekers.”

But Uncle Herschel (and his barrel) did not return to the logo itself until Trump intervened.

“Congratulations ‘Cracker Barrel’ on changing your logo back to what it was,” he posted on Truth Social after the company reversed course. “All of your fans very much appreciate it. Good luck into the future. Make lots of money and, most importantly, make your customers happy again!”