The CEO of Cracker Barrel has bemoaned feeling as though she was “fired by America” over the company’s disastrous rebrand earlier this year.
Julie Felss Masino presided over the proposed renovations of Cracker Barrel’s stores, which would have seen the firm’s iconic Southern-style being ripped out for a modern, minimalist look.
After critics slammed the redesign as being “woke” and the company lost $98 million in a day, the firm retreated on its plans and axed the renovations.
During an interview on The Glenn Beck Podcast, which aired on Sunday, Masino opened up about the backlash that she received as a result of Cracker Barrel’s botched rebranding efforts.
‘Um, I feel like I’ve been fired by America,’ Masino said, before claiming that “nothing could be further from the truth” than the idea that she wanted to rebrand the company for the sake of simply giving it a new look.
“The notion for some of that truly came out of a lot of the work that we were doing on how do we improve food and experience,” she continued. “When we were talking to our guests, they said, “Stores could be a little bit more comfortable. They’re real dark. I can’t read the menu.’”
She also said that the criticism “hurts me, because I don’t want people to be mad at Cracker Barrel.”
Masino was hired as the company’s president and CEO in 2023, after working at Taco Bell and several other major brands. Last week, the company’s board voted to keep her in post following months of chaos caused by the rebrand.
The doomed rebrand was first unveiled earlier this year, with the huge overhaul including the scrubbing of Uncle Herschel from the company’s logo. The firm’s font was stripped back too, instead using a simplified, modern print.
MAGA politicians, including Congressman Byron Donalds, blasted the move as “woke” and issued calls to “Make Cracker Barrel Great Again.”
Even Donald Trump called on Cracker Barrel to “go back to the old logo” and floated the idea of using the backlash to get a “Billion Dollars worth of free publicity.”
Cracker Barrel has ditched the rebrand and terminated its relationship with Prophet, the consulting firm behind the rebrand.
During the online backlash, Cracker Barrel lost $94 million in a single day as its stock value plunged dramatically by 7.15 percent, rebounding slightly from 15 percent.
At the time, Tommy Lowe, the brand’s 93-year-old co-founder, criticised Masino for pushing ahead with the revamp in a furious statement given to WTVF.
“They’re trying to modernize to be like the competition. Cracker Barrel doesn’t have any competition,” he raged. “I heard she was at Taco Bell.
“What’s Taco Bell know about Cracker Barrel and country food? They need to work on the food and service and leave the barrel, the logo, alone.”
