Cracker Barrel lost $94 million in a day after a disastrous rebrand sparked outrage among President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” base.
The new logo for the Southern-themed restaurant chain has been blasted by Trump’s MAGA base claiming the design is “woke” and “boring.” The logo, which formerly featured a seated man in overalls leaning on a barrel, now simply has the name “Cracker Barrel” on it, with the classic gold background.
That anger led to a drop in the stock value for the company. It finished Thursday at $54.80 a share, down about 7.15 percent on the day. The stock was able to rebound from a midday low where it was down about 15 percent.
Cracker Barrel’s stock drop led to the company losing about $94 million in value in just a day.
CBS News’ Money Watch reported in the early afternoon Cracker Barrel had lost nearly $200 million but it was able to make up some ground before the closing bell.
Cracker Barrel said its new logo is “now rooted even more closely to the iconic barrel shape and word mark that started it all.”
The restaurant chain first opened its doors in 1969 and has gone through five logo redesigns. The previous logo design with the seated man was created in 1977.
After nearly 50 years of the old logo, some MAGA figures have voiced their frustration, accusing Cracker Barrel of changing it as part of a diversity, equity and inclusion initiative.
Congressman Byron Donalds of Florida, who at one point worked for Cracker Barrel, wrote on X, “Their logo was iconic and their unique restaurants were a fixture of American culture. No one asked for this woke rebrand. It’s time to Make Cracker Barrel Great Again.”
Right-wing commentator Matt Walsh wrote: “Yes let’s remove everything charming and distinct from the logo and make it as generic and boring as we possibly can.”
“WTF is wrong with Cracker Barrel ??!,” Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, wrote in response to a post by the Woke War Room account attacking the company’s CEO Julie Felss Masino and her “DEI regime.”
Owen Shroyer, a right-wing pundit, told Cracker Barrel of its old logo, “Yes, own the hilarious irony of using a racial slur against your main demographic. It will attract that younger crowd you’re reaching for. Or serve better food.”
