Cracker Barrel wants to 'regain' customers after controversy, CEO says

Cracker Barrel's CEO said the concatenation is moving to rebuild lawsuit spot aft its logo contention earlier this twelvemonth marked a 4th of declining sales.

During its quarterly fiscal results telephone with investors connected Dec. 9, Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Felss Masino acknowledged the concatenation has had a "difficult" past fewer months.

"While galore of our guests are enjoying our improved nutrient and impermanent experience, we surely person much enactment to bash to regain the spot and assurance of different who person been slower to return," she said.

For the fiscal 4th betwixt Aug. 1 and Oct. 31, Cracker Barrel said its gross was down 5.7% compared to the aforesaid 4th the twelvemonth prior.

The state store and edifice chain faced backlash from galore of its customers successful August erstwhile it announced a rebrand that included a alteration successful its alleged Old Timer logo. Days later, the institution reversed people and said it wouldn't alteration the logo after all.

Timeline: Cracker Barrel changed its logo. Then changed its mind.

During the hourlong telephone with investors, Masino acknowledged that Cracker Barrel has precocious faced "heightened scrutiny astir our brand."

"We person a marque estimation contented that we are moving through, and that takes rebuilding spot 1 impermanent astatine a time," she said.

The institution is focusing connected returning to its roots by returning immoderate impermanent favourite items to its menu, similar Campfire Meals, Uncle Herschel's meal and chickenhearted and rice. Some back-of-house unit members — including managers, room accumulation unit and grill cooks — were besides retrained connected "core classic" and vacation recipes successful October, Masino said.

"We’ve got a small spot of a marque accidental close now. There’s immoderate marque rebuilding and spot rebuilding that we request to do, and there’s a income opportunity. And truthful we are doing some of those things," she said.

On Aug. 19, Cracker Barrel unveiled a new, simplified logo. While inactive featuring the company's classical golden and brownish colour palette, it removed a antheral seated adjacent to a woody barrel.

Some customers decried the logo alteration arsenic uninviting. President Donald Trump also weighed in, penning successful a Truth Social station that the concatenation could gain "free publicity" if it went backmost to its aged logo.

On Aug. 26, the aforesaid time arsenic Trump's archetypal post, Cracker Barrel said it would driblet the caller logo and instrumentality to the "Old Timer."

"We convey our guests for sharing your voices and emotion for Cracker Barrel. We said we would listen, and we have," the company's connection said. "Our caller logo is going distant and our 'Old Timer' volition remain."