Cracker Barrel - Destroying The Brand

Well, I have to say I like Cracker Barrel...their food, and you can eat healthy there with careful ordering and I like their merchandise shop, and it is not all 'country stuff', they have one of kind in many things, also cute children gifts.
I could care less about their sign.
 
WOW!

I must admit that I have only eaten at a Cracker Barrel maybe 6 times in my life while traveling. There are none near me, and I am not a big fan of chain restaurants. But, I can see this change has hit a nerve with a lot of people. And, I can only say I hope that it is not The Begging of the End for Cracker Barrel.

Right now I am thinking of another business I have used not even as often as CB. I am thinking of SouthWest Airlines which I believe I have flown maybe four times. I have friends who worried about the recent take over of the airline and apparently for good reason. They seemed to have turned it into just another domestic airline. It's like they lost a longtime pet that has been a loyal friend since they were kids.

I have other friends who fear the same thing is in store of Hawaiian Airlines, though I think its merger with Alaska Air will affect both. For the better? I don't know. I was thinking of a Hula Dancer on one side of the rear tail fin and the smiling Eskimo on the other side. Apparently, that is not going to happen.

May the powers-that-be have mercy on our souls/life-energy/cosmic-intelligence and not darn us to merger heck.
 
@fuzzybuddy 's reply reminded me of this: This article is from today, but I had heard about accusations of discrimination in the past, so never had the desire to eat at a Cracker Barrel
"Cracker Barrel Old Country Store has faced multiple high-profile discrimination lawsuits over the past two decades, resulting in millions of dollars in settlements and ongoing legal scrutiny. These cases have established important precedents for customers and employees who experience racial discrimination in restaurant settings."
Cracker Barrel Racism Lawsuit Settlement 7.8 Million Federal Agencies Investigate
 
Last edited:
Brookswood said:
WOW!

I must admit that I have only eaten at a Cracker Barrel maybe 6 times in my life while traveling. There are none near me, and I am not a big fan of chain restaurants. But, I can see this change has hit a nerve with a lot of people. And, I can only say I hope that it is not The Begging of the End for Cracker Barrel.

Right now I am thinking of another business I have used not even as often as CB. I am thinking of SouthWest Airlines which I believe I have flown maybe four times. I have friends who worried about the recent take over of the airline and apparently for good reason. They seemed to have turned it into just another domestic airline. It's like they lost a longtime pet that has been a loyal friend since they were kids.

I have other friends who fear the same thing is in store of Hawaiian Airlines, though I think its merger with Alaska Air will affect both. For the better? I don't know. I was thinking of a Hula Dancer on one side of the rear tail fin and the smiling Eskimo on the other side. Apparently, that is not going to happen.

May the powers-that-be have mercy on our souls/life-energy/cosmic-intelligence and not darn us to merger heck.
Click to expand...
Southwest is based in Dallas, where I live, and for years there was a tremendous loyalty to them. It stemmed from their CEO, Herb Kelleher, who treated his employees like family. They were respected and they were happy employees. They did things differently, from having "open seating" to having funny flight attendants.

Then, as frequently happens, Herb retired and the new CEO simply treated it as any other business. The employees are no longer happy and neither are their loyal customers. They lost what made them popular in the beginning and now they are struggling to compete.

That goes far beyond a logo change, so if Cracker Barrel keeps their core product they should be okay.
 
GoodEnuff said:
I have eaten there a few times, when I was staying at a hotel and CB was next door, walking distance. Fried okra and fried chicken livers. Yum! Not what I would call a "healthy" meal but now and then (once a year, perhaps?) isn't going to kill ya and those are foods I would not cook at home. Where else could one go to get that? After the meal, I sat on the porch rocking away, which certainly beat going back to the hotel room.

It's a quaint place, IMO, but I wouldn't go there on a regular basis even if there was one in this area. However, I can see how these changes can be detrimental to their business.
Click to expand...
I like their country-fried steak. I have eaten there once since I moved back here. It's not nutritious food that plays well with my health problems, so I will go once a year at most.

@Jackie23 , I don't eat healthy there. I go there for unhealthy experience.
 
KSav said:
They just capitulated: Cracker Barrel reverses course on new logo, brings back ‘Old Timer’ after fan backlash: ‘We said we would listen’
Click to expand...
I wonder if this will make a difference. They have other issues from what I've read, and those make the logo issue seem minuscule. But they are sure getting a lot of media attention. Perhaps that will give them a boost. If there was a Cracker Barrel around here, I'd probably have to check it out because of all the attention. I would look at the sign, but I'd be mostly paying attention to the service, tasting the food, and be looking at the bill.
 
Last edited:
JustDave said:
I wonder if this will make a difference. They have other issues from what I've read, and those make the logo issue seem minuscule. But they are sure getting a lot of media attention. Perhaps that will give them a boost. If there was a Cracker Barrel around here, I'd probably have to check it out because of all the attention. I would look at sign, but I'd be mostly paying attention to the service, tasting the food, and be looking at the bill.
Click to expand...
I've never been to one. I think there was a cracker barrel stand at the local mall around the holidays, decades ago. I think I gave it a quick look and walked away empty handed. If they want to change the logo, it's their business, making a mountain out of a molehill is crazy, IMO.
 
We liked Cracker Barrel but noticed a change a couple of years ago when they added alcohol. We thought that's odd for Cracker Barrel, a family type restaurant. Then the food. They added more bar type snack food. Ok, but where's the many soup and sandwich combos they used to have?
DH went for the Grandma breakfast. When we go to Cracker Barrel we know we're getting a treat. We know we don't eat like that at home.
We eat at a local one. When traveling we see the service is hit or miss.
The point is, these changes aren't new. They've been sneaking them in for a few years now. The logo threw people off the edge I guess.
However, I hear they've decided to keep the logo.
 
Lewkat said:
So, it looks like the original logo will be reinstated after all.

I've only ever eaten at one or two, and found the food to be rather good.
Click to expand...
Now all they need to do is fire the new CEO for making all the changes. Like the adage goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
Maybe she should go back to working in the mailroom. (Just a thought.)
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top