Cracker Barrel made a promise to customers angry about its new, much-derided logo, but some found the corporate messaging a little hard to swallow.
Last week, the restaurant chain announced it was removing the seated man and barrel from its logo after 48 years, and instead displaying just the restaurant’s name surrounded by a vaguely barrel-shaped orange hexagon.
While self-styled design experts found the change a little dull, it caused a MAGA tizzy among Trump fans — who somehow became convinced that the new logo was “woke.” That led to the company losing nearly $100 million in market value after its stock dipped Thursday.
Cracker Barrel attempted to right things on Monday with a public message on its Facebook page titled, “A Promise To Our Guests.”
In the post, which is also on the Cracker Barrel website, the chain said that “if the last few days have shown us anything, it’s how deeply people care about Cracker Barrel,” with the company claiming to be “truly grateful for your heartfelt voices.”
Although the post doesn’t appear to be an apology, the chain conceded that “we could’ve done a better job sharing who we are and who we’ll always be.”
The post then featured a sentence containing all sorts of folksy messaging and buzzwords meant to convey warmth:
“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 post also continued the folksiness by promising that “the things people love most about our stores aren’t going anywhere: rocking chairs on the porch, a warm fire in the hearth, peg games on the table, unique treasures in our gift shop, and vintage Americana with antiques pulled straight from our warehouse in Lebanon, Tennessee.”
Cracker Barrel then promised that Uncle Herschel, the name of the man seen next to a barrel in the old logo, “will still be on our menu” and also “featured in our country store. He’s not going anywhere— he’s family.”
The post then suggested the restaurant is focusing on the food and will continue “serving generous portions of the food you crave at fair prices and doing it with the kind of country hospitality that brightens your days and creates lasting memories.”
You can see the entire message below.
Many people responded to the message with, as you might have predicted, even more griping, but mostly about the food, not the logo.
However, people on X showed they still had problems with the logo change.