Julie Masino, CEO of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (NASDAQ:CBRL), recently weighed in on how she kept her job despite social media outrage—instigated by President Donald Trump—over the company’s logo change.
The decision to change Cracker Barrel’s logo and décor left many fans fuming. The most ardent critics called for Masino’s firing. The stock price fell and patrons swore they wouldn’t return to the restaurant.
Masino, who switched back to the previous logo, is hoping to move past the viral story and bring back customers.
When Blaze Media CEO Glenn Beck asked Masino if she was surprised to have kept her job, she replied, "I feel like I've been fired by America.”
That’s "probably worse,” Beck quipped.
Masino said she wanted to "help people love this brand," as reported by Fox News. The executive admits that the restaurant chain "missed the mark."
Cracker Barrel initially stood by their logo change, before reversing course and apologizing shortly after the backlash.
Prediction markets previously thought there was a good chance Masino would get fired. A market from Kalshi for whether she will be out as the CEO in 2025 stood at 36.8% odds back in August when the backlash was at its peak. Odds currently stand at 5% with just over a month left in the year.
Restaurant company Steak ‘n Shake called for Masino's firing on their X account, sharing the Beck interview story.
"Cracker Barrel stock is down 85%. AMERICA is firing her with one less visit at a time," the chain tweeted.
The restaurant, which is owned by Biglari Holdings (NYSE:BH), said, "Save Cracker Barrel! Fire the CEO!"
The call against Cracker Barrel comes as Biglari Capital is a large shareholder of Biglari Holdings and also owns around 3% of Cracker Barrel shares. Biglari Holdings has been fighting for changes at Cracker Barrel for more than a dozen years, losing multiple battles, according to Restaurant Dive.
Read Also: Cracker Barrel Rebrand Was ‘Pitiful,’ Co-Founder Says: ‘Leave The Barrel -The Logo Alone’
Cracker Barrel Visits Fall
Cracker Barrel reported fourth-quarter sales of $855.3 million, up 4.4% year-over-year, beating analyst estimates.
The quarter marked a fifth consecutive quarter of comparable store restaurant sales increases, but future quarters could see pressure as the backlash happened after the end of the fourth quarter.
Cracker Barrel's guidance for fiscal 2026 revenue of $3.35 billion to $3.45 billion fell shy of analyst estimates of $3.47 billion.
Data from Placer.ai shows just how much visitor traffic fell at Cracker Barrel locations after the logo change.
Data shows that visits fell 5.3% in the week of Aug. 25 through Aug. 31, which was after the logo change happened on Aug. 19.
Visits fell even more in the weeks after the company announced plans to revert back to the old logo on Aug. 26. Here are the visits tracked by Placer.ai:
- Week of Sept. 1: -10.1% year-over-year
- Week of Sept. 8: -10.0% year-over-year
- Week of Sept. 15: -9.9% year-over-year
- Week of Sept. 22: -7.2% year-over-year
“The consumer backlash to Cracker Barrel’s new logo in August triggered a sharp decline in restaurant visits, with year-over-year traffic dropping by roughly double digits for most weeks following the announcement,” Placer.ai Head of Analytical Research R.J. Hottovy said.
The data from Placer.ai showed sharp declines in visits to Cracker Barrel for several weeks, but a potential recovery in the last week of September.
Visits fell 7.2% in the last week of September, reversing course from the 10% declines in three straight weeks.
Overall, September monthly visits were down 12.1% year-over-year according to the Placer.ai data. That comes after the month of August saw visits down 0.1% year-over-year.
That might be a key point in the first-quarter results, which will include the month of August. Even with the logo change happening in August and a 5.3% drop in the last full week for visits, the month ended almost even for visit growth, according to the report.
Cracker Barrel Stock Price
The company’s shares were up 2.2% to $28.78 on Wednesday versus a 52-week trading range of $25.62 to $71.93. Cracker Barrel shares are down 47.4% year-to-date in 2025.
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