Cracker Barrel’s decision to revamp and simplify its longstanding logo has inadvertently become a new culture war flashpoint, with conservatives raging against the redesign.
The southern-themed restaurant chain, which is based in Lebanon, Tennessee, and first opened its doors in 1969, originally had simple gold branding with its name spelled out in brown lettering, intended to evoke the atmosphere of a friendly wood-frame general store selling dry goods to the pioneers.
Then, in 1977, it added the seated figure of a man wearing overalls leaning against a wooden cask alongside the name, in the process creating an icon of folksy Americana that has endured ever since.
The revamp removes the leaning figure and marks a return to the original design, with the company saying that its new logo “is now rooted even more closely to the iconic barrel shape and word mark that started it all.”
In a statement, the business elaborated: “Anchored in Cracker Barrel’s signature gold and brown tones, the updated visuals will appear across menus and marketing collateral, including the fifth evolution of the brand’s logo, which is now rooted even more closely to the iconic barrel shape and word mark that started it all.”
As harmless as that may sound, the move has incensed members of President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement, who have taken to social media in their droves to hammer out howls of complaint.
“WTF is wrong with Cracker Barrel ??!,” wailed Donald Trump Jr, the president’s eldest son, quote-tweeting the Woke War Room account, which attacked the company’s CEO Julie Felss Masino.
“She scrapped a beloved American aesthetic and replaced it with sterile, soulless branding,” it wrote.
“Masino kept a DEI regime that promises to ‘identify, recruit, and advance’ hires by race – and now faces civil rights complaints from America First Legal to the [Equal Opportunities Employment Commission] and the Tennessee AG.”
MAGA podcaster Benny Johnson called the new logo “absolutely horrible” while right-wing pundit Owen Shroyer told Cracker Barrel: “This is your logo. It’s literally a cracker and a barrel. 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.”
Watching on with glee, anti-Trump poster Ron Filipkowski commented: “They are melting the f*** down over the new Cracker Barrel logo and I’m here for it!”
Many people compared the redesign to the Bud Light controversy of 2023, when conservatives, led by rapper Kid Rock, moved to boycott the beer label for featuring transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney in a brief commercial.
One person labelled Cracker Barrel “the Bud Light of formerly great restaurants” and an account called Turbo Truther posted a picture of Felss Masino wearing a clown wig with the caption: “Cracker Barrel… the Bud Light of Barrels.”
At the other end of the political spectrum, one person posted their alternative logo, in which the leaning figure is posing next to a sign that reads “Release the Files” about the Jeffrey Epstein furore. At the same time, AI developer Mario Pawlowski scolded conservatives for their hostility.
Pointing out that the company employs 77,600 people across 660 locations, Pawlowski warned against an equivalent boycott on economic grounds, saying it would only hurt the company’s staff.
“It’s tradition terrorism,” he complained. “Wrecking brands that employ thousands and support local communities, all for meme points. Wake the hell up!”
