Cracker Barrel loses almost $100 million.

[ThatRobGuy]

Honestly never had that experience. Which is good, since some of the times I've eaten at Cracker Barrel have been on business trips halfway across the country.

That's when I've had to eat there too...

Some years back, when I would travel for work, I was still at the level where you only got the $25/day allowance for food.

Thankfully I worked my way up the ladder enough to get a corporate Amex and a lot more "flexibility" with regards to dining options when on a work trip.

 

[Oompa Loompa]

This picture says all that is needed to be said.

 

[Trogdor the Burninator]

I can’t sit through that much of Shapiro. 3 mins in and nothing about woke. Businesses rebrand, redecorate, update, change logos all the time. How is that woke (your word) is my question?

I thought it was AI for a few seconds. His face doesn't move. It's like someone with a Shapiro mask.

 

[Trogdor the Burninator]

Meanwhile, in Australia, we're all trying to figure out how you have an entire restaurant chain dedicated to cheese.

 

[Tuur]

That's when I've had to eat there too...

Some years back, when I would travel for work, I was still at the level where you only got the $25/day allowance for food.

Thankfully I worked my way up the ladder enough to get a corporate Amex and a lot more "flexibility" with regards to dining options when on a work trip.

On one trip, I was driving down an Interstate, and a coworker put in for Cracker Barrel. Okay. But the exit slipped up on me and I passed it.

"Just eat where ever," the coworker said.

"We're on the interstate. There's bound to be another Cracker Barrel at another exit," I said.

Sure enough, there was.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

I can’t sit through that much of Shapiro. 3 mins in and nothing about woke. Businesses rebrand, redecorate, update, change logos all the time. How is that woke (your word) is my question?

After looking into it a little more (admittedly, Cracker Barrel news wasn't high on my interest list... news about restaurants I don't eat at because the food is sub-par typically isn't on my radar -- but I wanted to see what all of the fuss was about)


From what I'm gathering, it's not so much that it was a logo change or decor change... it was the finer details of what was being scrapped as part of that change...and the person who was making those changes.

If they'd picked a new styled design that was still uniquely "Southern/Midwestern Christian vibes", I doubt there would've been any huge objections to it.

That's what Cracker Barrel was sort of known for... Southern Rustic "country boy" nostalgia, southern fried food, and a gift shop stacked to the brim with Gospel CDs, country music, and "I love Jesus and America" merch. If someone wanted to get a "Oak Ridge Boys sing the gospel classics" box set, a cross necklace, and a bedazzled "faith, freedom, family" sweatshirt after eating 3,000 calories worth of biscuits and gravy... Cracker Barrel was their "one-stop-shop"

From what I'm reading about the re-brand, they're updating the menu items (like getting rid of some of the "country boy" foods, and adding things like Pumpkin Lattes), they're planning revamping their merchandise selection in the gift shops, etc...

And the person responsible for the initiative is someone who's known for going on a DEI kick.




As I often do, I like to frame inverse examples to put things in perspective.

Take for instance a chain like Sweetgreen, a chain known for plant-forward meals, sustainability messaging, eco-conscious branding, modern "chic" decor with an environmental theme, and playing artsy modern folk'ish music. It's very popular with the progressive crowd.

Now, imagine someone with a track record of conservative advocacy got brought in as a brand officer and was going to do some "re-branding"

Their plan is
"There's too many salads on this menu...we're going to get rid of some of those, and replace them with country fried steak, and a fried catfish platter"

"That Lana Del Ray music playing, that's a little high-brow, we're going to start playing Kenny Rogers and Hank Williams"

"All those informative pictures on the wall that explain how long plastics stay in the ocean or how deforestation is harming the rainforest...gone... we're going to replace those with pictures of vintage Shell and Sunoco logos and pictures of people hunting"

"Oh, and we're going to change the current logo from this:

To this:"

And then said "I don't know what you're all so upset about, it's just a logo change, some redecorating, and a menu refreshing, you're all just being over-sensitive -- look we still have some salads on our menu"

It would clearly be viewed as a "Culture war -- shots fired" type of situation.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

Meanwhile, in Australia, we're all trying to figure out how you have an entire restaurant chain dedicated to cheese.

I don't know how "strength" is measured in cheese terms...but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that I wouldn't want that package of 5/5 strength cheese opened in my car.

 

[RileyG]

Meanwhile, in Australia, we're all trying to figure out how you have an entire restaurant chain dedicated to cheese.

LOL! First time I heard about that was when I used google the other day!

 

[Trogdor the Burninator]

I don't know how "strength" is measured in cheese terms...but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that I wouldn't want that package of 5/5 strength cheese opened in my car.

That's one I sometimes buy, and It's honestly not too bad.

Blue Vein is the one I wouldn't want to open in my car.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

That's one I sometimes buy, and It's honestly not too bad.

Blue Vein is the one I wouldn't want to open in my car.

While I like certain cheeses (the basic ones), with how stinky some of them are, I'm convinced that the "high end cheese" market is just a zeitgeist that rich partake in to pretend to be more "refined" lol. (sort of like caviar)

I always think back to that Family Guy quote.

Stewie (while gagging): "Ugh! What's that awful smell??"

Brian: "Hmmm...that's either really bad meat, or really good cheese"


Occasionally I'll get invited to "wine & cheese" functions with clients for work. I'm the guy who eats only the crackers and prosciutto with the wine, and breathes though my mouth when passing the cheese tray.

 

[Desk trauma]

Meanwhile, in Australia, we're all trying to figure out how you have an entire restaurant chain dedicated to cheese.

Tell me you haven’t been to the Midwest without saying you haven’t been to the Midwest.

 

[Chesterton]

...(admittedly, Cracker Barrel news wasn't high on my interest list...

Nor on mine. I've never set foot in one because anybody who refers to chicken fried steak as country fried steak doesn't know how to make chicken fried steak.

BUT... I found out today that the guy on the rocking chair has a name, and was based on a real person. Now I'm emotionally invested.

"Uncle Herschel was a real person and the namesake of a popular breakfast dish at Cracker Barrel, known as "Uncle Herschel's Favorite." He was the uncle of the restaurant's founder, Dan Evins, and is celebrated for embodying the values and culture of the chain."​

Suddenly, this is as bad as tearing down a statue of Thomas Jefferson.

 

[rockytopva]

There is NO truth to the rumour that CEO Julie Masino and Garth Algar from Wayne's World are identical twins.

 

[Tropical Wilds]

Cracker Barrel loses almost $100 million in value as stock plunges after new logo release.

Cracker Barrel shed almost $100 million in market value Thursday after its stock plunged following the release of a new logo. The new design eliminates a longstanding drawing of an overall-clad man leaning against a barrel, in favor of a cleaner logo featuring just the chain's name.

This is another go woke go broke situation. Where the CEO wants to change the company's image. Apparently not having any appreciation for who her customers are. What the main demographic is.

Cracker Barrel loses almost $100 million in value as stock plunges after new logo release

Cracker Barrel stock plunged as much as 15% after the restaurant chain released a new logo that removes its long-time image of a man leaning against a barrel.

www.cbsnews.com

Imagine being so fragile that a mediocre restaurant changing its dated logo is enough to send you into a tailspin. Not the ghastly, dated, underseasoned, boil-bag food… The logo.

 

[Tropical Wilds]

....less clutter?

<shrug>

Image from WSJ:
An updated Cracker Barrel restaurant in Mt. Juliet, Tenn. The revamp gives the outlets a brighter, more contemporary look.


View attachment 368968

Can tell you as an industry insider that as diners have more good options and become more discerning, they’re moving away from the antiques, gizmos, and garbage nailed to the wall aesthetic.

Why?

It collects dust and is difficult to clean. Customers, especially young customers, notice when there’s dust and grime all over the decor. It’s also hiding spots for bugs and critters in an industry prone to being attractive to bugs and critters. Finally, it’s a hazard. A kid in a booth who’s not being watched enough, a handsy-adult, even a stiff breeze from an open window and stuff comes crashing down.

My bestest friend is a restaurant efficiency expert who worked for the big chains and now goes freelance. The first thing she says is “take the garbage off the wall.”

 

[Postvieww]

This is silly. Why does it matter if they change the logo? For all the conservative complaints about whining liberals, they sure do get upset over stupid stuff. I think conservatives need a big hug.

I was unaware that only conservatives ate at Cracker Barrel. Thanks for clarifying.

 

[public hermit]

I was unaware that only conservatives ate at Cracker Barrel. Thanks for clarifying.

How did you glean that from my post? The meltdown is from conservatives. The crying about it being "woke" is from conservatives.

As I said in an earlier post, I ate there a couple weeks ago, and ordered my usual double hash brown casserole. I could care less about the logo, or MAGA temper tantrums, and so long as they have hash brown casserole and The Country Boy breakfast, I'll probably eat there.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

Imagine being so fragile that a mediocre restaurant changing its dated logo is enough to send you into a tailspin. Not the ghastly, dated, underseasoned, boil-bag food… The logo.

Like I noted in my post above:

Cracker Barrel loses almost $100 million.

Honestly never had that experience. Which is good, since some of the times I've eaten at Cracker Barrel have been on business trips halfway across the country. That's when I've had to eat there too... Some years back, when I would travel for work, I was still at the level where you only got...

www.christianforums.com

After looking into finer details a little more, it's more than just a simple logo change.

Like I said, I don't eat there because I don't think the food is good.

But I highlighted a hypothetical inverse scenario that would perhaps add some perspective.

 

[BCP1928]

Meanwhile, in Australia, we're all trying to figure out how you have an entire restaurant chain dedicated to cheese.

We're big Wallace and Gromit fans, too.

 

[Aryeh Jay]

I am just thankful that the original "old country store", Walmart, has never changed it's logo and never will. This woke nonsense needs to stop.