Cracker Barrel sales plunging amid MAGA backlash
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A Cracker Barrel in Florida City, Florida. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Cracker Barrel sales are plunging as it faces a backlash from conservatives.
Why it matters: The restaurant-and-retail chain is reeling from a firestorm over an aborted decision to redo its logo and stores, abandoning the "Old Timer" design.
- MAGA critics blasted the move, assailing it as an example of the company's "woke" turn.
Driving the news: Cracker Barrel on Wednesday said same-store traffic has declined by 8% since the company's attempted logo change in August.
- The company projected a 4 to 7% decline in same-store traffic in its new fiscal year, which started Aug. 2, a few weeks before the controversy began.
- The company predicted overall revenue of $3.35 billion to $3.45 billion for the 2026 fiscal year, which would be down from the previous showing of $3.48 billion.
- The declines so far have been particularly bad in the Southeast, CFO Craig Pommells said on an earnings call.
The impact: The company's stock fell 9.3% in after-hours trading, to $44.99.
The big picture: Cracker Barrel had announced a remodeled logo and stores in a bid to overhaul its image, having acknowledged that it needed to change to remain competitive.
- CEO Julie Masino, who has come under fire from MAGA figures, confirmed that it's abandoning the rebranding initiative. Instead, the company will double down on the "Uncle Herschel" image in its "Old Timer" logo, she said.
- "The core elements that people expect from Cracker Barrel are there today, and they will always be there," Masino said on the earnings call, including "rocking chairs on the front porch, vintage Americana decor and antiques pulled straight from our warehouse in Tennessee, peg games, fireplaces and our unique retail shop."
- Masino added that the company "has already begun executing new marketing, advertising and social media initiatives, leaning into Uncle Hershel and the nostalgia around the brand."
Yes, but: Cracker Barrel's overhaul might've been showing results before the uproar.
- The company generated five consecutive quarters of comparable restaurant sales increases, including a jump of 5.4% for the period that ended Aug. 1.
What's next: The company will restore the old-fashioned look and feel to the four restaurants it had modernized as part of its rebranding — and it'll maintain it at the rest of its locations.
