Cracker Barrel’s CEO on Tuesday spilled why the Southern-style restaurant chain tried to redesign its logo, a move that outraged conservatives and led to a swift reversal: to increase the visibility of signs for drivers on the highway.Julie Felss Masino told an investor summit in New York City that the company hoped the reimagined logo — which ditched the man and barrel from the design for a yellow, hexagonal-like shape with text that simply read “Cracker Barrel” — would be easier to spot on billboards, The Wall Street Journal reported.She dismissed talk of an “ideological” reason behind the change, per the WSJ.Back in August — when the Old Country Store chain announced the new look — the company claimed the minimalist logo would be “rooted even more closely to the iconic barrel shape and word mark that started it all.”Critics in MAGA world, however, didn’t want a supposedly “woke” logo to be part of their dining experience.The backlash led to President Donald Trump weighing in on the matter, as he urged Cracker Barrel to “go back to the old logo” and “admit a mistake based on customer response (the ultimate Poll).”The company trashed the new logo just hours later, stating that “Old Timer” — the man depicted on the iconic 1977 logo that stemmed from a drawing on a napkin — would remain.Cracker Barrel would later walk back plans to modernize its restaurant interiors, as well, writing that the company would stick with “vintage Americana” and keep rocking chairs, fireplaces, peg games and antiques at its locations.A look at the reimagined Cracker Barrel logo that sparked backlash as seen on a menu inside a Cracker Barrel restaurant in Pembroke Pines, Florida.Joe Raedle via Getty ImagesThe Cracker Barrel logo is seen on a sign outside one of its restaurants in Muncy, Pennsylvania.Paul Weaver/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty ImagesSince the backlash, Cracker Barrel dropped the marketing firm behind the failed logo change and reportedly scrubbed its Pride as well as its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) pages from its website.A company spokesperson, in comments to Fox Business last month, said it no longer has DEI team member positions or DEI quotas or requirements.“[Cracker Barrel] hires, promotes, and rewards individuals based only on skills and performance — full stop,” the company spokesperson said. “It does not treat employees or guests differently based on race or any other protected class.”Close