That is pretty fucked up, never heard about it. It’s the usual suspects, “Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia”. Probably not an unspoken nationwide Cracker Barrel policy, more of a Southern thing, but it’s likely corporate knew it was going on & tolerated it.
The dead logos & old Southern country styling…WAS…their thing. It was their whole thing, now it’s gone, and they have nothing. Idk personally I don’t see it going well for them. Time will tell.
Two things can be true at once. Who knows?
IIRC BlackRock owns 16% shares of Cracker Barrel, and “stripping the copper” seems to be their go-to strategy. 😬
Cracker Barrel, a kinda-sorta popular “Old Country Store” that prided itself on staying the same over the years…has undergone massive, sweeping changes in aesthetics. The man & barrel are from the sign, now gone. The dark wood walls covered in Americana are going away. I hear some of the food is going to change as well.
It’s weird because I’m seeing everybody slamming Cracker Barrel’s food, and I have never had a bad meal at Cracker Barrel. I’m not going out of my way to eat it, but every time I’ve gone it’s been nice.
I have enjoyed Cracker Barrel in the past, but I’m far from a frequent customer. However: anyone with half a brain can tell you the very last thing Cracker Barrel regulars want is change. Unless this change is accompanied by providing…something…with value equal or greater than what they’re taking away, we are witnessing intentional brand destruction and/or brand suicide.
So you approach the Cracker Barrel, and it’s got a bunch of rocking chairs out front you can rock on. You go inside, and immediately it’s like a ye olde General Store type vibe. An assortment of various goods, enough of them have an old-timey Americana feel. Postcards, candies, snacks, sodas, clothing, toys, kitchen/household items. You’d check in with the hostess & browse the goods as you wait to be seated.