Cracker Barrel responds to backlash over new brand
‘The Massive Cash Present’ panelists react to Cracker Barrel’s failing rebrand as shares of the long-lasting chain take a steep hit.
Cracker Barrel admitted on Monday that it “may’ve executed a greater job sharing who we’re and who we’ll at all times be” after prospects expressed outrage over the restaurant chain’s new brand.
“If the previous few days have proven us something, it’s how deeply folks care about Cracker Barrel. We’re really grateful in your heartfelt voices,” the corporate mentioned. “You’ve additionally proven us that we may’ve executed a greater job sharing who we’re and who we’ll at all times be.”
The corporate mentioned what has not and “won’t ever change” are the values Cracker Barrel was constructed on when the Lebanon, Tennessee-based chain first opened in 1969.
These values, the assertion learn, are “laborious work, household, and scratch-cooked meals made with care.”
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View of the doorway of the Cracker Barrel Outdated Nation Retailer in Mount Arlington, New Jersey on August 22, 2025. (GREGORY WALTON/AFP by way of Getty Pictures)
Cracker Barrel additionally mentioned it values providing a spot the place everybody feels at house, no matter the place they’re from or the place they’re headed.
“That’s the Cracker Barrel you’ll at all times discover,” the assertion learn. “The issues folks love most about our shops aren’t going wherever: rocking chairs on the porch, a heat fireplace within the fireplace, peg video games on the desk, distinctive treasures in our present store, and classic Americana with antiques pulled straight from our warehouse in Lebanon, Tennessee.
“We love seeing how a lot you care about our ‘previous timer.’ We love him too. Uncle Herschel will nonetheless be on our menu (welcome again Uncle Herschel’s Favourite Breakfast Platter), on our street indicators and featured in our nation retailer. He’s not going wherever — he’s household,” the assertion continued.
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The brand new Cracker Barrel brand is seen on a menu contained in the restaurant on August 21, 2025 in Pembroke Pines, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Pictures)
The corporate mentioned the most important focus for the time being is “within the kitchen and in your plate,” moderately than on the headlines about its brand and remodels.
“Meatloaf, rooster n’ dumplins, nation fried steak, sides that style like Sunday supper, and sure, the world’s greatest pancakes, they’re all nonetheless right here, with just a few new dishes becoming a member of the menu. Whether or not you’re a long-time fan or a first-time visitor, we would like you to really feel at house round our desk,” the assertion learn. “We additionally wish to make sure Cracker Barrel is right here for the following era of households, simply because it has been for yours.”
Cracker Barrel defined that planning for future generations means “displaying up on new platforms and in new methods, however at all times with our heritage on the coronary heart.”
“We take that duty very significantly. We all know we received’t at all times get all the things proper the primary time, however we’ll maintain testing, studying, and listening to our visitors and workers,” the corporate wrote. “On the finish of the day, our promise is straightforward: you’ll at all times discover consolation, neighborhood, and nation hospitality right here at Cracker Barrel. Uncle Herschel wouldn’t have wished it every other means.”
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Customers rapidly spoke out in opposition to Cracker Barrel after it unveiled a brand new brand that eradicated the imagery of a person leaning over a barrel and as a substitute simply has the restaurant’s identify in black textual content over a yellow barrel-shaped backdrop. (Cracker Barrel / Fox Information)
Cracker Barrel discovered itself at odds with its followers after eradicating “Uncle Herschel” from its brand. The corporate unveiled its revamped text-only design, sparking backlash and sinking its inventory value.
The unique 1969 brand was additionally text-only, however the 1977 addition of the now-iconic imagery turned a staple of its branding.
The chain additionally redesigned the inside of its eating places, ditching the kitschy American aesthetic and changing it with a slick modernist motif.
Cracker Barrel has stood by its current strikes and mentioned 87% of respondents of their analysis both liked or appreciated the brand new brand.
“Our values have not modified, and the center and soul of Cracker Barrel haven’t modified,” a spokesperson beforehand instructed Fox Information Digital.
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“And Uncle Herschel stays entrance and heart in our eating places and on our menu. He’s the face of ‘The Herschel Means,’ the inspiration of how our 70,000-plus workers present the nation hospitality for which we’re identified,” the spokesperson continued. “Cracker Barrel has been a vacation spot for consolation and neighborhood for greater than half a century, and this fifth evolution of the model’s brand, which works throughout digital platforms in addition to billboards and roadside indicators, is a call-back to the unique and rooted much more within the iconic barrel form and phrase mark that began all of it again in 1969.”
A spokesperson additionally mentioned the suggestions from visitors and crew members has been “overwhelmingly constructive and enthusiastic concerning the refreshed eating and procuring expertise,” however a “vocal minority” might really feel in a different way.
FOX Enterprise’ Stephen Sorace, Brian Flood and Nikolas Lanham contributed to this report.