Cracker Barrel speaks out on 'woke' rebrand admitting 'we don't always get it right'

Cracker Barrel’s recent logo change and promised restaurant renovations have launched it to the top of the US’s national conversation. While there’s no such thing as bad press, the brand has been catching an awful lot of stick.

The new logo removed Uncle Hershel, the real uncle of founder Dan Evins, sat beside a cracker barrel typical of the American South in the 1800s and early 1900s. It also reshaped the original boundary around the brand name and lightly edited the typeface.

It’s easy to trigger online hysteria these days, and that’s exactly what the move prompted. Many commentators have decried a ‘woke’ rebrand that’s scrubbed Uncle Hershel from the Southern restaurant chain’s branding, although it’s unclear what exactly is ‘woke’ about the decision.

“Another great American brand ruined by a white liberal woman,” said one X user, referring to CEO Julie Felss Masino. “Cracker Barrel's stock has DROPPED 14% since they decided to go woke and rebrand to a more ‘inclusive’ style.”

“I don’t care if they put Uncle Herschel back on the Cracker Barrel logo,” said another. “I’m not eating there. I do not support woke businesses.”

“Yo, did Cracker Barrel just ditch Uncle Herschel to go woke or what?!” asked yet another.

Backed into a corner by unending online opprobrium, Cracker Barrel released a statement on Instagram addressing the furore.

“If the last few days have shown us anything, it’s how deeply people care about Cracker Barrel. We’re truly grateful for your heartfelt voices,” Cracker Barrel said.

“You’ve also shown us that we could’ve done a better job sharing who we are and who we’ll always be.

“What has not changed, and what will never change, are the values this company was built on when Cracker Barrel first opened in 1969: hard work, family, and scratch-cooked food made with care. A place where everyone feels at home, no matter where you’re from or where you’re headed.

“That’s the Cracker Barrel you’ll always find.”

The comments, unfortunately, weren’t overly positive.

“We don’t want remodelled stores,” said one Instagram user. “We want the old rustic floors that creek as you step on them. We want to step into a restaurant that looks like it’s lit by oil lamps. We don’t want bright LED lit stores with modern art. I want to see rusty farm equipment all over the walls. I want it to look like the back of an old southern farmhouse.”

“Stop spitting in our faces and telling us it’s sweet tea,” said one very dedicated logo fan. “Bring back the old logo.” People really care about logos, as it turns out.

“Do you know how wrong you have to get it for an entire country to turn on you?” asked another. “Listen to your customers.”

“With all the Uncle Hershel respect you seem to show in this post, why take him off the logo?” said another. Uncle Hershel, unmentioned in the post, seems to have struck a chord with Cracker Barrel fans over the years. You never know what you’ve got until it’s gone, right?

“Just bring the old logo back, cancel the remodels,” demanded another.

Other social media commenters expressed confusion over the ‘woke’ label the rebrand has been lambasted with.

“I have to say I'm really confused about what's woke’ about the Cracker Barrel makeover?” asked an X user. “It's bland. It's boring. It's an example of corporate homogenization. Heck, it's even an example of how fake rage fuels clickbait and cable news. But ‘woke?’”

‘Woke’ really is the buzzword of the day.

Another shared: “This whole Cracker Barrel thing is absurd. The new logo is not ‘woke’. Their customer base has been dying off for 20 years and nostalgia doesn’t keep the lights on. I swear that the ‘new right’ has as many whiny little ninnies as the far left they complain about.”

“So just to make sure that I understand this Cracker Barrel controversy,” added another. “The CEO changed the logo so that it looked like a bland iPhone app logo…and then conservatives interpreted this as a woke attack on American heritage?”

Cracker Barrel has said in a statement to FOODBible: ''Our values haven't changed, and the heart and soul of Cracker Barrel haven’t changed. And Uncle Herschel remains front and center in our restaurants and on our menu. He is the face of "The Herschel Way”, the foundation of how our 70,000 plus employees provide the country hospitality for which we are known. Cracker Barrel has been a destination for comfort and community for more than half a century, and this fifth evolution of the brand’s logo, which works across digital platforms as well as billboards and roadside signs, is a call-back to the original and rooted even more in the iconic barrel shape and word mark that started it all back in 1969.''

We really do live in bizarre times.