Hometown clients in Lebanon, Tennessee, share their ideas on Cracker Barrel scrapping its newly unveiled text-only brand to maintain its long-standing ‘Outdated Timer.’
Cracker Barrel’s brand rebranding fiasco has ignited nationwide backlash and now one of many chain’s unique founders is talking out.
At 93 years outdated, co-founder Tommy Lowe advised WTVF NewsChannel 5 in Nashville that the corporate’s management is steering the model off track.
Within the interview, Lowe stated the $700 million rebrand was simply “throwing cash out on the road.”
“Oh, that is loopy,” stated Lowe. “That is … bland nothing.”
CRACKER BARREL SCRAPS NEW LOGO DESIGN, KEEPS ‘OLD TIMER’ AFTER LISTENING TO CUSTOMERS
Cracker Barrel relented and introduced it might hold the “Outdated Timer” in its brand after intense backlash from the general public. (iStock / iStock)
Calling the brand new brand “pitiful,” Lowe warned executives to “hold it nation” in the event that they wish to survive.
The Lebanon, Tennessee–primarily based chain rolled out the redesign final week as a part of a $700 million makeover beneath CEO Julie Masino. As an alternative of successful over clients, the rollout sparked widespread ridicule, a pointy dip in Cracker Barrel’s inventory value and even pushback from President Donald Trump.
By Tuesday, the corporate reversed course and restored its unique brand. In a candid admission to FOX Enterprise, Cracker Barrel stated it “may’ve completed a greater job” in sharing what the enterprise is about and emphasised that the beloved parts of the chain, from rocking chairs to “Uncle Herschel,” “aren’t going wherever.”
“Congratulations ‘Cracker Barrel’ on altering your brand again to what it was,” President Trump wrote on Reality Social Tuesday. “Your whole followers very a lot respect it. Good luck into the longer term. Make plenty of cash and, most significantly, make your clients pleased once more!”
CRACKER BARREL CUSTOMERS IN THE COMPANY’S HOMETOWN WEIGH IN ON LOGO: ‘IF SOMETHING’S NOT BROKE, DON’T FIX IT’
Cracker Barrel unveiled a brand new text-only brand in August 2025, changing its iconic man-and-barrel design first launched in 1977. (Thomas Fuller/SOPA Photographs/LightRocket by way of Getty Photographs / Getty Photographs)
Lowe’s critique carries historic weight. Alongside the late Dan Evins, he helped open the primary Cracker Barrel in 1969 off Interstate 40 in Wilson County, Tennessee, with the thought of a roadside restaurant and nation retailer.
“It was all the time a rustic retailer for nation individuals,” Lowe stated, including that present management “simply doesn’t perceive.”
CEO Julie Felss Masino introduced a sweeping “strategic transformation plan” in Might 2024, sparking investor backlash. (Gregory Walton/AFP by way of Getty Photographs / Getty Photographs)
He singled out new CEO Masino, a former Taco Bell government, questioning her grasp of the model’s roots.
“What’s Taco Bell learn about nation meals?” he questioned.
For Lowe, authenticity is the corporate’s solely successful recipe.
Recalling recommendation from nation star David “Stringbean” Akeman throughout Cracker Barrel’s early days, Lowe stated, “It seems to be good, however simply hold it nation. In the event that they don’t, it ain’t gonna work.”
Fox Information Digital’s Sophia Compton and Greg Wehner contributed to this report.
