{"id":783993,"date":"2026-07-06T14:26:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T14:26:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/783993\/"},"modified":"2026-07-06T14:26:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T14:26:14","slug":"how-cracker-barrel-saved-itself","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/783993\/","title":{"rendered":"How Cracker Barrel saved itself"},"content":{"rendered":"

New York\u00a0\u2014\u00a0\n <\/p>\n

\n Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Felss Masino said six months ago that she thought she was \u201cfired by America<\/a>\u201d following a bungled revamp. Today, she could be on the path to forgiveness.\n <\/p>\n

\n The chain\u2019s focus on getting back to its roots, doubling down on Southern-inspired comfort food and Americana-themed tchotchkes, appears to be resonating. Cracker Barrel reported better-than-expected revenue in its most recent quarter, and it even raised its outlook for the year.\n <\/p>\n

\n Plus, shares are up a staggering 100%<\/a> for the year.\n <\/p>\n

\n Masino recently told analysts that she wanted to ensure customers \u201cthat we are still the Cracker Barrel they know and love.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n It\u2019s a notable turnaround from last year, when Cracker Barrel\u2019s plans for modernization inadvertently thrust the company into a broader culture war<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

\n Last summer, Masino unveiled an updated logo and restaurant design that swapped its signature dark woods for a lighter aesthetic and ditched the souvenir-lined walls, part of a $700 million transformation plan<\/a> to bring back customers to the 56-year-old chain.\n <\/p>\n

\n The stock slumped<\/a>, and foot traffic and revenue nosedived. Shares tanked<\/a> by as much 12%, and President Donald Trump<\/a> chimed in on the change. The company reversed course.\n <\/p>\n

\n Some critics hated that Cracker Barrel dumped the famous \u201cold timer\u201d character that had been used since 1977, seeing it as a sign that Masino had gutted the brand\u2019s folksiness and gone woke.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cIt\u2019s really difficult to be at the helm of a brand that has the kind of legacy and reputation that Cracker Barrel does, because that\u2019s powerful,\u201d said Robert Byrne, senior director of consumer research for Technomic. \u201cWhen you try to effect changes \u2013 in attempts to modernize the brand in one way or another \u2014 that\u2019s a thorny issue for a lot of consumers.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\"Julie<\/p>\n

\n Masino largely kept quiet after the blowup, speaking only on earnings calls, at a conference<\/a> and during a lengthy November interview with conservative radio host Glenn Beck.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWhat we didn\u2019t see in the data was the way that people see themselves in the logo,\u201d she told Beck. \u201cWhen the \u2018old timer\u2019 and when the barrel were gone, it was like we had taken them out of it and that we weren\u2019t valuing what they valued.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n The roadside staple needed to attract new customers, especially younger ones, after years of sagging sales. The chain wanted to avoid tumbling into bankruptcy like Red Lobster<\/a>, Hooters<\/a>, TGI Fridays<\/a> and so many other family dining chains.\n <\/p>\n

\n Masino shifted from aesthetic changes to focusing the chain\u2019s menu on what customers wanted. That included adding value meals priced under $10 and foods like country ham, fried catfish<\/a>, carrot cake and foil-wrapped Campfire Meals<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n

\n She also fired the marketing agency<\/a> behind the redesigned logo and brought back a former executive who had overseen menu strategy once before.\n <\/p>\n

\n The CEO also invested in the company\u2019s loyalty program, which offers deals and allows members to give feedback. That program has grown to nearly 12 million members, who now account for more than 40% of sales.\n <\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

\n The gift shops also got a refresh with American-themed merchandise ahead of the nation\u2019s 250th anniversary, a move Masino described as \u201cproudly celebrating America and patriotism.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n The changes are \u201cpaying off,\u201d according to R.J. Hottovy, head of analytical research at data analytics firm Placer.ai.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThe limited-time offerings and value-focused pricing align with what restaurant consumers want in today\u2019s macroeconomic environment, while the returning favorites help rekindle customers\u2019 nostalgia for the brand,\u201d he told CNN.\n <\/p>\n

\n Visits, however, remain a sore spot. Cracker Barrel said that traffic fell 6.7% during the most recent quarter. However, Chief Financial Officer Craig Pommells said on the earnings call that was a \u201cgradual improvement\u201d from the past and that the company was \u201cencouraged\u201d by the trend.\n <\/p>\n

\n Cracker Barrel\u2019s traffic decline mirrors rivals, and Hottovy said the \u201ctrends suggest the brand has put the right strategies in place.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Technomic\u2019s data shows that Cracker Barrel is seeing significant increases in several metrics, including service, food and cleanliness, as well as \u201cnotably higher scores for value and order accuracy,\u201d Byrne said.\n <\/p>\n

\n All of Cracker Barrel\u2019s changes signals to Byrne there are better days ahead.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWith the recent focus on fundamentals and a renewed commitment to the brand\u2019s unique and authentic history, there is a lot for loyal guests to be excited about and for new guests to enjoy,\u201d he said.\n <\/p>\n

\n Masino is also optimistic, telling analysts that the company is \u201cpleased with the progress that we have been making around holding on to our core guests.\u201d\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New York\u00a0\u2014\u00a0 Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Felss Masino said six months ago that she thought she was \u201cfired…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":783994,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[45,49,48],"class_list":["post-783993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-ca","tag-canada"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/783993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=783993"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/783993\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/783994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=783993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=783993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=783993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}