They fired the woke CEO of Cracker Barrel after last year's disastrous progressive rebranding

In August 2025, the woke CEO of Cracker Barrel, Julie Felss Masino, outraged everyone by changing the iconic logo of the restaurant chain as part of a company renovation project that would cost over $700 million.

The replacement of the classic 47-year-old logo, which featured the restaurant's name alongside a man sitting in a chair and leaning against a barrel, caused such outrage among the public that even President Donald Trump weighed in on the matter.

"Cracker Barrel should go back to the old logo, admit a mistake based on customer feedback (the ultimate survey), and manage the company better than ever," the president wrote on his social media at the time. "They have gained a billion dollars in free advertising if they play their cards right. It's very hard to do, but it's a great opportunity. Hold a big press conference today," he added.

This decision devastated the company and cost Fells Masino her job. This Monday, Cracker Barrel announced that Masino will step down after three years as CEO and will be replaced by David Deno.

A million-dollar failure

The co-founder of Cracker Barrel, Tommy Lowe, joined the outrage and called the new logo "pathetic."

"They are trying to modernize to be like the competition; Cracker Barrel has no competition. I heard she [Masino] was at Taco Bell. What does Taco Bell know about Cracker Barrel and country food? They need to work on the food and service, and leave the barrel and the logo alone," Lowe stated in an interview with a local television channel.

Although the company initially doubled down, the public's fury and Trump's intervention led to the original design becoming the official logo of the brand again.