Biggest controversy of my lifetime...new Cracker Barrel logo

[samhexum]

New Cracker Barrel logo sparks backlash as ex-longtime worker says it erodes nostalgia

APPLE.NEWS

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Erik Russell, a former Cracker Barrel employee who now works as a brand designer, said the company...

 

[mtaabq]

I still have not forgiven them for the controversy in the 1990’s when they ordered all gay employees fired. (Those of us of a certain age should remember this.) They had to backpedal on that once their sales plummeted during the negative PR meltdown that ensued. And I have never set foot in one of their establishments - and won’t. (Hey - you don’t want me working there? Fine. I’m not gonna eat there either.) Remember, this a restaurant that refers to macaroni and cheese as a vegetable. Who cares if they change their logo? (I hope I don’t sound too bitter.) 

[samhexum]

12 minutes ago, mtaabq said:

(I hope I don’t sound too bitter.) 

thanks for the set-up!

Dorothy:  “I used to think Stan would take care of me. I mean, we didn't have much saved, but he was a darn good novelty salesman. Sounds naive now to think that I placed my hopes for the future on a bald pinhead with the morals of a maggot who made his living selling plastic dog-doo.

Well, at least I'm not bitter.”

 

[mtaabq]

@samhexum 😀 well-played

[Jiminy]

[+ BOZO T CLOWN]

Nothing beats Grandpa's Country Fried breakfast with a side of chocolate chip pancakes.   YUMMY!
Just thinking about it makes Bozo's mouth water.... and cholesterol go up 10 points.

BTC
🤡

[Lotus-eater]

1 hour ago, Jiminy said:

It would have been better to make this guy the new "Uncle Herschel" on the logo.

[Simon Suraci]

When a brand tells you who they are, believe them. They did so in the 90s and they’ve been backpedaling and pandering ever since. Bigotry dies hard.

It’s been well over twenty years since my last visit. I would never eat there again, if not for the legacy of homophobia and backwards thinking, then for the gross smells that still haunt me today. I remember walking around sniffing out like a weird salted pork stench, but after it has turned bad, with a twist of liver. Liver on its own makes me want to vomit. So nasty. Gives me the shivers just thinking about it.

Then they have all the cheesy nick nacks in a flea market you have to walk through. An antebellum IKEA, really.

If they were going to simplify the logo at all, I might have gone with a barrel shape field around the letters instead of a diamond style polygon shape reminiscent of Denny’s. Good riddance to the old man graphic. The logo was as cluttered as their flea market.

And for those who didn’t already get the memo…I’ve Had It Podcast famously made recent mention of the restaurant and a certain news outlet lost their mind. Of all the incendiary things they say on that show, I’m tickled that this is the one said news outlet latched onto. Fascinating. I’ll say no more. Curious minds might venture a Google on the subject.

[samhexum]

16 minutes ago, Simon Suraci said:

It’s been well over twenty years since my last visit. I remember walking around sniffing out like a weird salted pork stench, but after it has turned bad, with a twist of liver. Liver on its own makes me want to vomit. So nasty. Gives me the shivers just thinking about it.

but how do you REALLY feel about them?

[+ azdr0710]

the old and new......I would've dropped the man, chair, and the "old country store" phrase, but kept the barrel......

 

[+ Just Chuck]

In 2004 they paid an $87,000,000 fine for how they discriminated against black people.

And, 

In 1991 Cracker Barrel attempted to fire all gay employees.

Cracker Barrel has enough bad history that I avoid going there myself.  I think the new logo looks cleaner and crisper than the old one.  The old one just looked like a yellow brown blur from any distance.

[+ KensingtonHomo]

I cannot imagine why anyone cares that a chain restaurant is rebranding. 

[maninsoma]

I've never eaten at a Cracker Barrel, but I don't think I'm in areas very often where that's even an option.

I did work at a company nearly 30 years ago that had a large contract with Cracker Barrel and I had a lot of interactions with some of their senior managers.  I viewed the entire thing as rather distasteful since they had already demonstrated their anti-gay bias and the company I worked for was based in San Francisco.  Wonder what those senior managers thought about having a gay man lead the team of people assigned to assist their employees with their health benefits?  Not that I specifically came out to any of them, but I've been told my entire life that it's "obvious" that I'm gay so they either must have ignored those clues or just chose to accept me since they had no other choice in the moment.  At any rate, it was a real drag to be in my position since their demands (and thus my employer's demands) for me and my team went way beyond what we did for other large employers.  The workload was intense and the pay relatively low.  I was so glad when I escaped for a much better paying job elsewhere.

I couldn't care less about their logo.

[Ali Gator]

One opened in my area about 25 years ago. One night my friend and I were near where it's located (out in the 'burbs) and decided to try it for dinner, and see what all the excitement was about for the past year or so since opening. Neither one of us were familiar with it, so let's give it a try.

When we were driving around the parking lot looking for a place to park, we knew right away this was NOT for us. Everyone walking to the restaurant and from the restaurant was the size of a VW Beetle. We knew right away what kind of food they were serving, and it was nothing we'd be interested in. She insisted, though, we take a walk in and check it out - we did, and it was everything we expected. Noisy, chaotic, and a stench of fried food. Yuck! Out we went. Of course, our leaving had zero impact on their success (that location is always packed).

[pubic_assistance]

On 8/24/2025 at 2:31 PM, Ali Gator said:

Everyone walking to the restaurant and from the restaurant was the size of a VW Beetle. We knew right away what kind of food they were serving,

Yeah. Definitely NOT a "fine dining" establishment.

Reviews are most commonly of this variety: "Great place/ lots of food on the plate. We ate a lot".

[Nightowl]

I went to one once on a road trip.  Never again.

[+ PhileasFogg]

I knew Danny Evins, the founder.  I’m certain he’s NOT rolling in his grave. 

[+ Gar1eth]

On 8/23/2025 at 5:15 PM, Jiminy said:

Who the heck is this?

Supposedly the new logo represents the barrel. To me it only vaguely looks like a barrel, and that's if I use my imagination to the utmost.

If they wanted to update something, they ought to get more comfortable chairs. But maybe that's a marketing decision-having subtly uncomfortable chairs that get more uncomfortable the longer you stay. 
 

But as for the food, I'm going to have to disagree with a lot of y'all. And actually some of y'all's comments make me see some tinges of red. I'm not excusing their previous gay bashing. But y'all must have grown up a lot differently than I did. My parents both worked. My Dad didn't cook although he would grill. My family routinely went to Furr's Cafeteria growing up when my Mom needed a night off from cooking. It had great food. They had great chicken fried steak. I'm sorry the original Furr's (and not the buffet place it was in its last incarnation-although I didn't mind that either) is gone. As for Cracker Barrel,  it's a family style place. We would have gone to it when I was a child, but there weren't any around where I grew up. So it's not a 4 or 5 star Michelin restaurant. It's a perfectly fine place. Their biscuits and cornbread are excellent. And they are one of the only places that really have them. I used to like their beef stew a lot, but unfortunately they took that off the menu years ago. Their fried chicken is not bad too. So it doesn't fit what maybe easterners or west coasters are used to. I know I'm not the only one from middle America or the Southern regions who enjoys going there whether they are on the MC or not. 

Edited Tuesday at 04:10 PM by Gar1eth

[viewing ownly]

This is the stupidest outcry of what a business does since the Bud Light crap. The sad thing is that people give a fuck of what beer a transgender drinks, or what a restaurant store sign looks like. "Get a life, people" is a severe understatement, since clearly too many people don't have one. Now, back to watching Karen incidents on YouTube.....

[BuffaloKyle]

4 minutes ago, viewing ownly said:

This is the stupidest outcry of what a business does since the Bud Light crap. The sad thing is that people give a fuck of what beer a transgender drinks, or what a restaurant store sign looks like. "Get a life, people" is a severe understatement, since clearly too many people don't have one. Now, back to watching Karen incidents on YouTube.....

Every single thing becomes a political issue now. A company or restaurant logo change should be no reason at all to get worked up about in the least. We have so much more to worry about in life it's ridiculous.

[BSR]

14 minutes ago, viewing ownly said:

This is the stupidest outcry of what a business does since the Bud Light crap. The sad thing is that people give a fuck of what beer a transgender drinks, or what a restaurant store sign looks like. "Get a life, people" is a severe understatement, since clearly too many people don't have one. Now, back to watching Karen incidents on YouTube.....

Bud Light lost an estimated $1.4 billion in sales in 2023 from backlash to its Dylan Mulvaney ad, plus the brand dropped from the top-selling beer to 3rd place.  In other words, the brand suffered deep and lasting damage.  You might not care, but the brand’s customers obviously did.  On the other hand, I doubt the Cracker Barrel logo change will be anywhere nearly as controversial, or damaging.  We’ll soon find out.

[BuffaloKyle]

10 minutes ago, BSR said:

Bud Light lost an estimated $1.4 billion in sales in 2023 from backlash to its Dylan Mulvaney ad, plus the brand dropped from the top-selling beer to 3rd place.  In other words, the brand suffered deep and lasting damage.  You might not care, but the brand’s customers obviously did.  On the other hand, I doubt the Cracker Barrel logo change will be anywhere nearly as controversial, or damaging.  We’ll soon find out.

Cracker Barrel’s loses $143 million in market value after woke brand fiasco

If someone loves Cracker Barrel but now says they can no longer go there because they changed the logo then that just seems silly. You go for the food which is staying the same. If they said we're radically changing the menu then I can understand.

Edited Tuesday at 05:39 AM by BuffaloKyle

[You_Can_Turn_Over]

The logo change is new fodder for the outrage porn machine of the chattering classes.  Not a customer of the chain, but it seems there have been concerns over recent years with decline in the quality of the food (increasingly pre-packaged, microwaved, etc.) and value for money spent.  

[ICTJOCK]

The sign looks fine.   Sounds like drama over nothing.    I enjoy eating there and checking out the items they sell up front.     I'm a rewards member as well.

[+ Cash4Trash]

On 8/24/2025 at 11:19 AM, KensingtonHomo said:

I cannot imagine why anyone cares that a chain restaurant is rebranding. 

We're not talking about Jeffrey Epstein and all those wealthy pedophiles. I'd say mission accomplished.