When we last left Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (CBRL) , the southern-country-themed restaurant and gift chain had gotten its biscuits fried after trying to dropkick the Uncle Herschel character from its logo.
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The move was part of a “strategic transformation” intended to modernize the company and attract a younger crowd in the face of declining sales and traffic.
Many companies are simplifying and streamlining their logos, as part of a longstanding trend toward minimalism.
Cracker Barrel’s CEO says the company misstepped on its logo change.Image source: Shutterstock
“Visual identities have the power to make a brand instantly recognizable,” Jessica Wong, digital marketing strategist, wrote in Entrepreneur in 2023. “The simpler a logo or other element is, the quicker customers can memorize and identify it. This has never mattered more than today.”
Wong, CEO of Valux Digital, said that on average Americans see between 4,000 and 10,000 adverts per day, double the figure from 2007 and a fivefold jump from the 1970s.
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“Simplifying visual identities allows brands to cut through the noise and be noticed by consumers,” she said.
In addition to the (almost) logo change, the Lebanon, Tenn., restaurant chain’s renovations involved a shift from the traditional rustic aesthetic to a brighter, more modern design with lighter walls, streamlined booths and new seating.
Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Masino defended the redesign efforts, saying in a “Good Morning America” interview that public feedback to the remodeled locations had so far been “overwhelmingly positive” and that “people like what we’re doing.”
Maybe not.
An awful lot of people — right on up to President Donald Trump — rallied around the overalls-wearing “Old Timer,” who resembles Herschel McCartney, the real-life uncle of the company’s founder, Dan Evins.
Trump declared that “Cracker Barrel should go back to the old logo, admit a mistake based on customer response (the ultimate poll), and manage the company better than ever before.”
The stock tumbled nearly 16% amid the hullabaloo and the dreaded allegation of wokeness from conservative circles.
Traffic dropped about 8% since Aug. 19, the date of the initial logo change, and the company warned that if the trends continued, it expected a traffic decline of 7% to 8% for the rest of its fiscal 2026 first quarter.
Cracker Barrel Chief Financial Officer Craig Pommells said the company expected earnings for Q1, which began Aug. 1, to come in “significantly below” the year-earlier period’s level due to lower traffic and roughly $16 million in investments in advertising and marketing.
“The feedback we received from our guests in recent weeks on our brand refresh and store remodels has shown us just how deeply people care about Cracker Barrel,” Masino told analysts during the company’s earnings call.
Related: Cracker Barrel logo change leads to fake ‘woke’ outrage
“We thank our guests for sharing their voices and love for the brand and telling us when we’ve misstepped,” she added. “We’ve listened carefully.”
Masino said that the company had conducted extensive research to inform its strategic plan.
“What cannot be captured in data is how much our guests see themselves and their own story in the Cracker Barrel experience, which is what’s led to such a strong response to these changes,” she said.
“We have already taken steps to get back on track. We want longtime fans and new guests to experience the full story of the people, places and food that makes Cracker Barrel so special.”
Masino said the team pivoted quickly to switch back to the old-timer logo and has begun executing new marketing, advertising, and social media initiatives, “leaning into Uncle Herschel and the nostalgia around the brand, with more to come.”
“We also hit pause on our remodels and are reverting the four locations with the modern design to our old-timer signage and more traditional interiors,” she said.
Analysts at Truist recommended buying the weakness in the stock. They say the core drivers of the brand turnaround are intact and that sales soon might start to recover from the rebranding backlash as the autumn menu marketing resumes.
The investment firm lowered its price target on the stock to $58 from $62 and affirmed a buy rating.
It said the initial fiscal 2026 guidance was far lower than expected but also appears to include high marketing and labor spending to support the sales recovery.
Meanwhile, Citi cut its price target on Cracker Barrel to $42 from $47 and reiterated a sell rating on the shares.
The company reset fiscal 2026 expectations well below estimates while saying that fiscal Q1 began in a “deep traffic hole” given the logo mishap, the investment firm said.
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This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Sep 20, 2025, where it first appeared in the Investing News, Analysis, and Tips section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
