Cracker Barrel has always been a place for making memories. My first time there was in 1989, a year after I had moved to California. I had returned to Chicago to visit family and friends, and one friend who lived in Southern Illinois was raving about this new place down there called Cracker Barrel. She was so excited that she drove to Chicago, picked me up, and then drove back down, just so I could get a chance to eat there. The atmosphere, the food, and the old-timey treats and snacks, along with the happy tchotchkes and merchandise, made for a sweet time of reconnection with a good friend.
When I traveled from California to the South for my advanced Yoga certification, I was so excited to be able to eat at Cracker Barrel again. The atmosphere was just as warm and comforting, the food just as good, and roaming through the "Old Country Store" just as delightful. Cracker Barrel made inroads into the West Coast, and my husband and I regularly met friends at the Cracker Barrel in Las Vegas. They even managed to make it to California, and one of my visits in the state was to their Camarillo location with another dear friend. It was worth the 80-mile drive to hang out with my friend one last time--and get a dose of nostalgia and comfort food.
When I noticed the shift in Cracker Barrel from a familiar, quality, and reliable place to eat and visit to just another cookie-cutter corporate food chain was when my husband and I road-tripped from North to South to begin our new life down here. We looked forward to trying the Cracker Barrels along our route, and making new memories. What we discovered was that the service at some locations was pretty abysmal, and the food was inconsistent, ranging from pretty good to passable.
When you rely on a familiar place to be consistent, it's the inconsistencies that do you in. In New Mexico, the eggs were terrible, and so was the service. In Arkansas, everything was delicious, well-made, and the waitress laid on the charm. By this point, I had radically changed my diet, so Cracker Barrel became less of a draw, particularly as they totally altered their menu. There is a Cracker Barrel less than seven miles from my house, but I bypassed it when I had plans to eat out with new friends.
After a year-long stretch, my husband and I decided to try them again. The menu had changed once again: heavy on the ham and carbohydrate-laden dishes. Not being a fan of ham, and wanting to keep with my low-carb, animal protein-based focus, I ordered fried chicken and a steak. When we got home, I found my arm had broken out in large welts. You see, Cracker Barrel used to use good, old-fashioned lard for frying, but with the new menu came new cooking methods. Once I altered my diet and stopped eating seed oils, any time I encounter them in food, I immediately break out.
My breaking out was the breaking point, so to speak. The Cracker Barrel that I, and so many others, had visited and built fond memories around no longer existed. Cracker Barrel's new CEO calls it "rebranding," I call it company suicide.
🚨 Cracker Barrell is officially rebranding.
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) August 20, 2025
It looks horrible. Massive downgrade. pic.twitter.com/uxioIurqyH
From the public's outcry over this rebrand, it appears other people are waking to the fact that the old Cracker Barrel is being wiped from existence, much to the delight of its CEO.
Haven't been there since Cracker Barrell posted a picture of a rainbow rocking chair on their front porch - but I'll take your word on the quality of their food being diminished over time. pic.twitter.com/ojK8drXb2D
— NoMonkeyBusiness (@NoMonkeyBusine4) August 21, 2025
It’s already ruined. The menu has changed from country cooking to bistro food. They got rid of old favorites and changed the recipes for some dishes. Haven’t been in about 3 months.
— LindaYoung (@LindaYo72298445) August 20, 2025
From the look of the restaurant makeover, it seems the CEO wants to move from down-home, country nostalgia, to college cafeteria. Quite the flex.
The impulse to commoditize & standardize everything is really tempting for marketers. Only a handful of American businesses recognize the value of creating an emotional connection with their customers. Cracker Barrell will pay dearly for this miscalculation. https://t.co/EvLH1w8JAY
— Ron Pyle (@rreactor) August 21, 2025
Apparently, their stockholders are already paying dearly. The market doesn't appear to like their rebrand either.
Classic FAFO…#crackerbarrell pic.twitter.com/EkBlWa1fLM
— Jack Henry (@johnyc46) August 21, 2025
What the CEO will soon discover is that you cannot rebrand customer loyalty. When you have it, it's more precious than gold and can even be passed down like an inheritance.
Every Sunday after church, since I was a kid, our family gathered. No matter how long the line, we waited. It was a tradition for our entire family. We continued it with our kids. We haven't been in a few weeks now, and I'll miss the memories. My kids will miss new ones. But at…
— TA (@ToddAll60590879) August 20, 2025
Every Sunday after church, since I was a kid, our family gathered. No matter how long the line, we waited. It was a tradition for our entire family. We continued it with our kids. We haven't been in a few weeks now, and I'll miss the memories. My kids will miss new ones. But at some point, this crap has to stop, and it stops now for our family. They don't value us, the way we did for all those years. Generations of loyalty thrown away. But they don't care, and so now neither do we.
When you lose it, there are no guarantees that you will get it back. As a matter of fact, you may lose it for good. See: Anheuser-Busch, Target.
The motto for all “brands” should be:
— MoG1717 (@mog1717) August 20, 2025
“KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE”
A truism that the likes of Target, Bud Light, Jaguar, The Dixie Chicks and Major League Baseball, Hockey and Football have all forgotten at their peril.
From these moves, it appears the CEO doesn't even like Cracker Barrel's customer base, since it is pretty apparent they weren't even poll-tested on all these changes. Perhaps the CEO assumes this new branding that looks exactly like any other chain restaurant across the United States, will draw in a whole crop of customers.
Dream on.
Read More: Cracker Barrel Participates in the Pride Month Wave, Suicide Watch May Be Imminent
However, people do have long memories... definitely longer than your average CEO's tenure.
Getting rid of the "old country store" aesthetic of Cracker Barrell will end up killing the company. Maybe that's her goal.
— TexasBulldog (@Texas__Bulldog) August 21, 2025
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