Cracker Barrel unveiled a sleek new logo this summer. Stripped of its folksy Uncle Herschel mascot—a denim-clad old man perched on a chair beside a barrel—the marque was replaced with a pared-down silhouette of a stylized barrel and the restaurant’s name in a simplified, modern typeface. It was the product of a $700 million push intended to refresh the Southern-themed chain for a new generation.
Instead, the redesign detonated a culture war. It drew outrage from longtime diners. President Trump said “Cracker Barrel should go back to the old logo, admit a mistake based on customer response.” The conservative activist Robby Starbuck, writing in a post on X, said “Good morning @CrackerBarrel! You’re about to learn that wokeness really doesn’t pay.”
Oddly, it also attracted the fury of fellow dining chain Steak ‘n Shake.
In a series of posts on X, Steak ‘n Shake’s official account issued calls for Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Felss Masino to be fired. It mocked the rebrand, and posted images of red MAGA-style hats that read “Fire Cracker Barrel CEO” and “Biglari was right about everything.”
“Biglari” is a reference to activist investor (and Steak ‘n Shake owner) Sardar Biglari, who owns a $54.5 million stake in Cracker Barrel. He made a 120-page presentation to Cracker Barrel shareholders in 2024. His manifesto decried the Southern dining chain’s costly rebranding as “obvious folly.” He pushed for board seats—he wanted to be chairman—and lampooned management’s “corporate myopia.” (Despite Biglari’s warnings, the board sided with Masino’s decision to modernize the brand.)
