Cracker Barrel Walks Back Restaurant Renovations After Online Backlash

Cracker Barrel previously walked back plans to rebrand the chain's logo by removing 'Uncle Herschel,' an icon of the brand.

John Rigolizzo

Published: 9/9/2025, 5:08:43 PM EDT

Cracker Barrel Walks Back Restaurant Renovations After Online Backlash — The entrance to the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store in Mount Arlington, N.J., on Aug. 22, 2025. (Gregory Walton/AFP via Getty Images)

Cracker Barrel has scrapped plans to renovate its restaurants.

The Southern country restaurant and gift shop chain made the announcement in a post on X Tuesday. The walk-back comes after Cracker Barrel previously backed down from plans to rebrand, removing the "Uncle Herschel" character from its logo. The rebrand prompted significant backlash online and eventually reached the ear of President Donald Trump.

"You’ve shared your voices in recent weeks not just on our logo, but also on our restaurants," Cracker Barrel wrote on X. "We’re continuing to listen. Today, we’re suspending our remodels. If your restaurant hasn’t been remodeled, you don’t need to worry, it won’t be. With our recent announcement that our 'Old Timer' logo will remain, along with our bigger focus in the kitchen and on your plate, we hope that today’s step reinforces that we hear you."

The backlash did not end there. Commenters under the post called for CEO Julie Masino to resign or be fired.

"Great, but how did your leaders get it so wrong, after being warned no less?" Rasmussen Reports pollster Mark Mitchell opined. "Are the right people there who can understand your customer base?"

Backlash to the rebrand began in August, when an X user posted a video showing the inside of a remodeled Cracker Barrel restaurant. The restaurant featured white-painted walls, minimalist booths and tables, black-painted chairs, and hangings of kitchen utensils and metal signs. Videos criticizing the renovations got hundreds of thousands of likes on social media.

Masino defended the remodels in an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America" last month.

"Cracker Barrel needs to feel like the Cracker Barrel for today and for tomorrow," Masino told co-host Michael Strahan. She noted that many of the design motifs common in the chain's locations: rocking chairs, vintage decor, fireplaces, and the peg solitaire game on every table, are all still present.

She also said that the feedback from customers and from restaurant managers was overwhelmingly positive.

"[T]he number one question that I got asked, Michael, was 'how can I get a remodel? When can I get a remodel? How do I get on the list?'" Masino said. "So, because the feedback and the buzz is so good, not only from our customers, but from our team members, they want to work in a wonderful restaurant. So, we're doing everything for our guests and our team members."

Cracker Barrel previously walked back plans to rebrand the chain's logo by removing "Uncle Herschel," an icon of the brand based on founder Dan Evins's real-life uncle, and replacing it with a simplified, modernist rendition.

"We thank our guests for sharing your voices and love for Cracker Barrel," the chain wrote on X. "We said we would listen, and we have. Our new logo is going away and our 'Old Timer' will remain."

President Donald Trump caught wind of the news and voiced his opinion on the controversy.

"Cracker Barrel should go back to the old logo, admit a mistake based on customer response (the ultimate Poll), and manage the company better than ever before," Trump wrote on Truth Social in August.

He also shared a video of "Uncle Herschel" dancing with him to "Y.M.C.A."

The backlash to both the renovations and the new logo has been swift and fierce. Cracker Barrel stock has dropped nearly 12.5 percent in the past month.