Cracker Barrel 'completely blew' rebrand, tossed away authenticity: Jon Taffer
'Bar Rescue' host Jon Taffer argues Cracker Barrel leadership should be 'disempowered' after rebrand disaster on 'Varney & Co.'
After Cracker Barrel yanked "Uncle Herschel" from its logo in favor of modern text that some viewed as too woke, the backlash was swift and furious. Customers and influencers cried foul, and even President Donald Trump called on the chain to undo the move, which it did late Tuesday.
"We thank our guests for sharing your voices and love for Cracker Barrel. We said we would listen, and we have. Our new logo is going away and our ‘Old Timer’ will remain. At Cracker Barrel, it’s always been – and always will be – about serving up delicious food, warm welcomes, and the kind of country hospitality that feels like family. As a proud American institution, our 70,000 hardworking employees look forward to welcoming you to our table soon," the company said in a message.
"Bar Rescue" host Jon Taffer, who is known as a hospitality wiz, gave his take on what went wrong and what he’d do if he was running the company, starting at the top.
EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: CRACKER BARREL CEO DODGES QUESTIONS AFTER LOGO FLIP-FLOP
"The marketing people, the graphic people, the interior design people and the executives who get paid to understand their customer. They get paid to react to the likes of that customer. Every one of them completely blew it. So, as a CEO, the first thing I would do is get them all out of this. They should not be making any decisions going forward," he told Gxstocks’ Stuart Varney. "They should all be disempowered from making decisions going forward. Every single one of them," he advised.
EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Cracker Barrel CEO silent amid logo controversy
Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Felss Masino was spotted in Tennessee but declined to answer FOX News Digital's questions about the company’s short-lived logo change. (Credit: Fox News Digital / Zak Bennett)
Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Felss Masino remains in her role. She did not answer Gxstocks Digital's questions on Thursday when asked about the logo flip-flop outside a company office in Tennessee.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CBRL | CRACKER BARREL OLD COUNTRY STORE INC. | 59.82 | -0.24 | -0.40% |
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The 56-year-old brand and the company’s market value took a major hit, losing as much as $143 million at the height of the crisis. As of Friday, those losses were trimmed to $20.04 million. Shares recovered as well, down 1.48% from close on Aug 18, 2025, as tracked by Dow Jones Market Data Group.
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Taffer honed in on the importance of the brand.
"If you take a look at what the concept is, it has authenticity to it. Concepts that have authenticity need to be respected," he said. "What happened to Cracker Barrel is they tossed away their authenticity. They tossed away who they are."
Trump noted in a Truth Social post before the company decided to scrap the new logo that the misstep generated much "free publicity" for the restaurant chain.
General view of a Cracker Barrel Country Store in Fishkill, New York, on Aug. 25, 2025. (Richard Beetham for Fox News Digital / Fox News)
"Cracker Barrel should go back to the old logo, admit a mistake based on customer response (the ultimate Poll), and manage the company better than ever before," Trump wrote. "They got a Billion Dollars worth of free publicity if they play their cards right. Very tricky to do, but a great opportunity. Have a major News Conference today. Make Cracker Barrel a WINNER again. Remember, in just a short period of time I made the United States of America the ‘HOTTEST’ Country anywhere in the World. One year ago, it was ‘DEAD.’ Good luck!."
Consumers quickly spoke out against Cracker Barrel after it unveiled a new logo that eliminated the imagery of a man leaning over a barrel and instead just has the restaurant’s name in black text over a yellow barrel-shaped backdrop. (Cracker Barrel / Fox News)
Taffer agreed with Trump's take.
"What the president said is, in fact, true," Taffer said. "The entire country is watching and listening to this. Think of that opportunity."
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"What if they said, 'you know what, we're going to put out five or six logos. We want you to vote on them. We’re going to put in three menu items. We're not going to change the interior. We're just going to make it better – we learned who we are,'" he added.
