Cracker Barrel CEO Responds to Backlash
After Ridiculous Woke Rebrand, and It’s
As Bad As You Imagine
RedState,
by
Katie Jerkovich
Original Article
Posted By: JoElla Bee,
8/21/2025 7:01:30 PM
Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Masino has responded to the backlash against the company's bizarre woke rebrand, and it's as bad as you might imagine.[snip] When asked why Cracker Barrel was making all these changes, Masino's corporate-speak didn't fail with her reply that "Cracker Barrel needs to feel like the Cracker Barrel for today and for tomorrow." Strahan then asked the CEO about how the new look has prompted numerous videos on social media slamming it, and she just brushed it off. "Honestly, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive that people like what we are doing," Masino responded.
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Reply 1 - Posted by:
DVC 8/21/2025 7:05:34 PM (No. 1993712)
I haven't been inside one in at least 15 years, so don't have any idea what has changed. They were never a favorite, and while I really appreciate old tools, have many and USE them, I'm not much into the hang them n on the wall stuff. Food, the little that I remember was OK, but not too memorable.
14 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
seamusm 8/21/2025 7:09:20 PM (No. 1993713)
It is normal human physiology to simply not notice what has been seen over and over - we simply just drive on by without stopping. So, it is good business practice to change signage periodically. Taking the man and barrel off the Cracker Barrel logo isn't woke for goodness' sake people - stop with the incessant whining! My wife and I just ate there three days ago - the food is still good. STHU!
18 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
WhamDBambam 8/21/2025 7:26:50 PM (No. 1993722)
Women do such a better job than men.
7 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
padiva 8/21/2025 7:30:45 PM (No. 1993723)
Please, keep the barrel in the logo. It's an identifier unique to CB.
I was there many years ago for lunch. Ya can't linger after lunch. They want you out of there....quick.
I was treated to a Thanksgiving dinner there many, many years ago. Ya get one plate- no seconds. It was quite the assembly line. People were waiting for over an hour for a 15 minute dinner. I'd rather cook for myself.
5 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
itsonlyme 8/21/2025 7:39:44 PM (No. 1993727)
I have NOT eaten there in my lifetime. I will NOT eat there in the future.
Go Woke, Go Broke
15 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
Catherine 8/21/2025 7:49:06 PM (No. 1993729)
I've been there many times. The last few years the quality of the food has gone down. Way down. That's all that needed fixing. New Cracker Barrell now looks like any diner on the corner of the street by Walmart. We won't go back. Let little Miss Priss brag about how wonderful she is and how she's made miraculous changes. Time, and profits, will tell soon enough.
40 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
Californian 8/21/2025 7:55:26 PM (No. 1993730)
Standard corporate fluff. She says nothing worth hearing. It was her opportunity to show she knows what she's doing.
She failed.
41 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
slipstik 8/21/2025 7:58:41 PM (No. 1993732)
Drain circling shark jumping. New sport
They're done...
16 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
anniebc 8/21/2025 8:13:34 PM (No. 1993742)
Corporate speak is as bad as politically correct speech. It's infused with it but worse. Businesses that provide a service are more concerned with dishonest climbers and keeping them happy rather than the customer.
18 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
chumley 8/21/2025 8:18:43 PM (No. 1993748)
Its their restaurant. They can do whatever they want with it no matter what their reasons, or how stupid they may seem. I've been to a few CBs over the years and enjoyed them. The food was good, the staff was good enough actresses I actually believed they liked me, and the decorations were fun.
There are restaurants closer to home that I like pretty well (when I find the money to go out to eat). So no desire nor need to go to CB now.
8 people like this.
Put a fork in them, they're done!
16 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
JHHolliday 8/21/2025 8:37:01 PM (No. 1993764)
If changing the look is all they are doing it doesn't bother me. I guess the new CEO has to prove she can "take the reins and improve the business". There is an old truth about restaurants..the food has to be good. If it is, people will patronize your place even if the decor is not cute and trendy..
I haven't eaten there in years but I always found the food good. Is there some wokeness going on here? If so, they have shot themselves in the foot. I also wonder how many millions they paid their ad agency to come up with this and how much money it's costing for new signage and remodeling.
10 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
Twinkle93 8/21/2025 8:44:28 PM (No. 1993767)
Sounds like the ones complaining did not like Cracker Barrel in the first place.
7 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
Italiano 8/21/2025 8:44:58 PM (No. 1993768)
Dylan Mulvaney and Megan Rapinoe both thought that it was a great move.
22 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
Tennman 8/21/2025 8:57:10 PM (No. 1993775)
Now we know where those advertising gurus from Bud Light and Jaguar went.
28 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
whyyeseyec 8/21/2025 9:15:52 PM (No. 1993779)
Masino is lying when she states the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. She just made that up to use as a get out of jail free card, and to deflect from the negative customer reaction. Time will tell.
21 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
stablemoney 8/21/2025 10:36:10 PM (No. 1993795)
I am not as critical as some on this situation. The CEO is trying to attract some younger customers, a necessity as their customer base is older, and alas, suffer from mortality issues.
4 people like this.
Reply 18 - Posted by:
RuckusTom 8/21/2025 10:43:14 PM (No. 1993797)
"You drink Bud Light, support the Vikings and eat at Cracker Barrel? Holy ..."
7 people like this.
Reply 19 - Posted by:
Newtsche 8/21/2025 11:20:45 PM (No. 1993803)
What we learn is that hard leftists populate our management/control class all across our society., if not totally, way too much.
11 people like this.
Reply 20 - Posted by:
Historybuff 8/21/2025 11:32:54 PM (No. 1993804)
How’d Your stock do today?
Oh yeah, that guy leaning on the barrel is real, and part of your company history.
9 people like this.
Reply 21 - Posted by:
Lawsy0 8/21/2025 11:58:10 PM (No. 1993807)
It's a bad day in the neighborhood when one of the best restaurant franchises "voluntarily" digs its own grave and euthanizes one of the best ideas to come along since the discovery of electricity. The food was 4-star Southern cuisine, and the little general store themed waiting area was the best of all such venues. I'll grieve the loss, and this is personal. I have been a fan of Cracker Barrel since the beginning. Anyone else remember when the first menus resembled hand written "flour sack"? My BFF and I did a meet-up there at least once a month after we became grandmothers. Great food quality and great bragging about the grandkids.
13 people like this.
Reply 22 - Posted by:
cThree 8/22/2025 12:01:47 AM (No. 1993808)
So the old guy, a cracker, maybe, joins Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben, Mia (the Land O'Lakes Indian Maiden) in the land of PC Purgatory.
The heck with 'em.
20 people like this.
Reply 23 - Posted by:
WV.Hillbilly 8/22/2025 12:07:11 AM (No. 1993809)
It's like they turned it all over to Joanna and Chip Gaines.
8 people like this.
Reply 24 - Posted by:
MickTurn 8/22/2025 12:45:31 AM (No. 1993816)
The Bish might as well file bankruptcy paperwork, YOU'RE DONE!
I guess she is going to ride the Barrel over Niagara Falls!
14 people like this.
Reply 25 - Posted by:
Samsquanch 8/22/2025 5:25:04 AM (No. 1993849)
Big Glasses, you should fix the quality of the food before you tinker with anything else.
12 people like this.
Reply 26 - Posted by:
Falconer 8/22/2025 5:34:43 AM (No. 1993853)
Why did Cracker Barrel hire this person to lead their restaurant? Are they trying to attract the much younger Starbucks' crowd as their new customer base? She spent over 10 years working for Starbucks. I'm don't think this ends well for Cracker Barrel.
12 people like this.
Reply 27 - Posted by:
Strike3 8/22/2025 7:19:21 AM (No. 1993907)
She was obviously listening to the wrong feedback. I hope she is polishing up her resume because this job has a short shelf life for her.
6 people like this.
Reply 28 - Posted by:
Venturer 8/22/2025 7:29:37 AM (No. 1993909)
A sit down meal at a decent price. That's Cracker Barrel.
Nothing great about the food, but it was ok and beat a hamburger at McDonalds.
It will be sad to see them go, but why change something that works.?
6 people like this.
Reply 29 - Posted by:
ronniethek 8/22/2025 7:40:32 AM (No. 1993913)
The CEO is a liar and a moron. I feel bad for the shareholders .
6 people like this.
Reply 30 - Posted by:
hershey 8/22/2025 8:23:50 AM (No. 1993933)
This is what you get when you bring in an outsider as CEO who doesn't have any background in that particular chain...like bringing in some civilian to be a police chief who has no experience...five will get you ten she's a democrap...frankly, my wife and I count(ed) CB as our fav eatery...have to go 20 miles to get to the nearest one..loved the decor and she especially liked to browse the gift shop..last time we went the changes hadn't gotten to the decor yet at our fav, but the menu had changed a bit...
6 people like this.
Reply 31 - Posted by:
Philipsonh 8/22/2025 9:10:00 AM (No. 1993964)
To Reply #29. You are SO correct.
3 people like this.
Reply 32 - Posted by:
Rumblehog 8/22/2025 10:09:27 AM (No. 1994001)
I wonder how much Cracker Barrel had to pay ABC for use of their broadcast time for "cultural absolution?"
4 people like this.
Sadly, like so much in the food service industry under the Obama and auto-pen administrations' inflation propagating policies, CB's food quality and menu selections have, in my opinion, gone downhill as prices have gone up. I generally like their food, but having to wade thru the overflowing merchandise section is a pain, but I also realize it is a nice profit center for the company so am willing to overlook it. Now comes another boss babe wanting to prove her chops by "repositioning" or "updating" the brand.
The newer McDonald's buildings look like earth-tone bunkers as do the newer Burger Kings, even What-a-
Burger is giving in to some of this "modernizing". What is wrong with bright and cheerful, or, in CB's case, ongoing nostalgia? At a CB with my grandchildren I have answered their questions about, "Grandpa, what is that thing?" with educational conversations about how folks did their work in times past---manually. For folks in Rio Linda, manually means by hand.
8 people like this.
Reply 34 - Posted by:
Noj15 8/22/2025 1:21:49 PM (No. 1994116)
FTA: "Honestly, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive that people like what we are doing," Masino responded."
And then, POOF, there goes $100M in stock value. Effen liar.
3 people like this.
Reply 35 - Posted by:
bighambone 8/22/2025 3:16:28 PM (No. 1994147)
I can remember when Cracker Barrel was great on a cold winter’s morning when we used to get a table in range of their big fireplace!
2 people like this.
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Looks like America may get to find out if Cracker Barrel is any smarter than Budweiser.