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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial | |
ARTICLE VIEW: | |
Cracker Barrel changed its logo. Then visits tumbled | |
By Ramishah Maruf, CNN | |
Updated: | |
6:17 PM EDT, Wed September 17, 2025 | |
Source: CNN | |
Customer visits to Cracker Barrel fell after intense backlash to its | |
proposed logo change and renovations, the company said in its earnings | |
call Wednesday, and it expects a continued decline in the coming | |
months. | |
Traffic has fallen 8% since the chain initially changed its logo on | |
August 19, the company said. If trends continue, it expects a traffic | |
decline of 7% to 8% for the rest of the first quarter of its 2026 | |
financial year. | |
The company said it expects earnings for its first quarter, which began | |
August 1, to be “significantly below” the prior year due to both | |
lower traffic and roughly $16 million in investments in advertising and | |
marketing. | |
Cracker Barrel shares closed down 3.16% on Wednesday and fell 9.58% | |
in after hours trading. | |
The old-timey chain had recently scrapped major parts of its turnaround | |
plan after right-wing backlash. It last month, and then halted | |
restaurant remodels last week. | |
The backlash when Cracker Barrel rolled out a new logo that got rid of | |
its “old-timer” figure and the barrel in August. It sent the stock | |
sinking as much as 12% amid backlash stoked by right-wing figures | |
online. Even the president jumped in when the chain reverted back to | |
its old logo. | |
“All of your fans very much appreciate it. Good luck into the future. | |
Make lots of money and, most importantly, make your customers happy | |
again!” Donald Trump on Truth Social. | |
The company’s earning report released Wednesday doesn’t include the | |
impacts from the logo change saga. For the quarter ending August 1, | |
restaurant same-store sales grew 5.4%, while retail same-store sales | |
fell 0.8%. It was its fifth consecutive quarter of growing same-store | |
restaurant sales, the company said. | |
Cracker Barrel’s CEO, Julie Masino, said during the earnings call | |
that the company adjusted its investment plan after the logo change | |
backlash. | |
“We’re moving ahead with a strong plan to regain traffic and the | |
momentum we had a month ago. There is a lot to be optimistic about, and | |
our teams are focused on getting back to a positive trajectory,” | |
Masino said. | |
Cracker Barrel had with a simpler layout, getting rid of some of the | |
clutter, antiques and knickknacks the chain was known for. Cracker | |
Barrel said it had only completed four remodels out of its 660 total | |
locations by the time it paused the effort. | |
“You’ve shared your voices in recent weeks not just on our logo, | |
but also on our restaurants,” the chain on X earlier in September. | |
“If your restaurant hasn’t been remodeled, you don’t need to | |
worry, it won’t be.” | |
Cracker Barrel had wanted to attract new, younger customers to avoid | |
the fate of bankrupt peers Red Lobster, Hooters and TGI Fridays. Its | |
older customer base was visiting Cracker Barrel less often since the | |
pandemic. | |
Its three-year, $700 million transformation plan through 2027 showed | |
signs of working. The plan included making basic maintenance and | |
repairs to restaurants and improving technology — as well as 25 to 30 | |
remodels a year. It also included updated menus and improvements to | |
kitchen operations. | |
Before the controversy, Cracker Barrel posted four straight quarters of | |
comparable sales growth. | |
“Our transformation plan is working,” Masino said in June, adding | |
later that month that people would perhaps grow to like the restaurant | |
renovations. “People’s immediate reaction to things is like, ‘Oh, | |
this isn’t the way it was,’ but they tend to come around,” | |
she . | |
CNN’s Nathaniel Meyersohn and Jordan Valinsky contributed reporting | |
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