Not a fan of the new logo, eh?
Cracker Barrel announced today that they’re changing their logo for the first time in nearly 50 years, ditching the old man sitting next to a barrel and instead going with a more minimalist approach:
Yeah, I hate it.
I grew up going to Cracker Barrel all the time. It was a staple on road trips when I was a kid, and every time I go there now I’m reminded of how much I love it and end up wondering why I don’t eat there more often. It’s homey, nostalgic, and serves some pretty good comfort food.
This new logo though? It feels so corporate and boring. There’s a TikToker who’s racked up millions of followers by doing terrible redesigns of logos (as satire), and I feel like even she could have come up with something better than this. It’s just…bad.
The move comes as Cracker Barrel is in the middle of a broader rebrand, modernizing its restaurants to look more like something you’d see in a hipster restaurant in East Nashville that charges $23 for a burger.
And the company’s CEO, Julie Felss Masino, has defended the rebrand, telling Good Morning America that the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive:
“People like what we’re doing. Cracker Barrel needs to feel like the Cracker Barrel for today and for tomorrow — the things that you love are still there. We need people to choose us, and we want people to choose us.”
Well I’m not sure where Julie’s getting her feedback, but outside of focus groups or whoever she’s talking to, the response to the logo on social media has been overwhelmingly negative:
Fire minimalist graphic designers into the sun
— Yankyguy (@GA_Optimal) August 20, 2025
So they made it worse for no reason. Wow.
— drastic215 (@drastic215x) August 20, 2025
Bro
So much swagger in the old one pic.twitter.com/ceBF3paoEl
— SteveG. (@SteveG60117) August 20, 2025
Everything is simple and boring now
— Geno (@GenoQuest) August 20, 2025
This is the worst logo change I have ever seen.
— Bryan (@StoryoftheYR2) August 20, 2025
— Scott F (BitSaga) (@scottfakhoorian) August 20, 2025
And you can count country singer John Rich as one who hates the changes being made to the iconic restaurant chain.
After the new logo was unveiled, the outspoken member of Big & Rich took to social media accusing the company of “going woke,” while questioning whether this may end up being the restaurant’s “Bud Light” moment:
Of course we all know what happened when Bud Light decided to partner with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, a move that was disastrously out of touch with their core customer base.
And Cracker Barrel faced criticism a few years ago after sharing a post for pride month with a rainbow rocking chair, declaring that everyone is welcome, though that controversy came just before Masino was named CEO.
The Nashville-based company no doubt wants to enhance their image outside of the southern United States, but I’m not sure that completely changing everything that made them so popular is really the way to go about it.
She better not touch the golf tee games on the tables…
