From its Southern-style comfort food, like biscuits ‘n’ gravy and country fried steak, to its country-themed gift shop with thousands of Americana trinkets and farmhouse décor, Cracker Barrel has long been the epitome of Southern hospitality and a nostalgic home-away-from-home for many people since 1969.
However, recent missteps have put the company under fire, forcing it to backpedal on major decisions in the face of mounting backlash from loyal customers.
Maple Street Biscuit Company closures
Cracker Barrel (CBRL) will close 14 Maple Street Biscuit Company restaurants in fiscal year 2026, marking a sharp setback for the brand it acquired in 2019 for $36 million.
Founded in 2012, Maple Street is a fast-casual restaurant chain specializing in Southern comfort food, especially biscuits and fried chicken. Like Cracker Barrel, it has a country atmosphere but is much more modern.
At the time of the deal, Maple Street operated 28 company-owned and five franchised locations across seven states. As of August, that footprint expanded to 68 restaurants.
But that quick growth has stalled. No new locations opened in the fourth quarter of 2025, and two closed. Cracker Barrel also recorded a $16.2 million impairment charge tied to Maple Street’s low performance, which the company disclosed during its latest earnings call.
However, this wasn’t entirely unexpected. Last year, Cracker Barrel signaled plans to slow expansion, reducing its forecast for new Maple Street units from 9 to 11 new units by the end of fiscal 2024 to around 8 to 10.
“We have decided to slow down Maple Street’s unit growth in the short term while they work on improving that business model, and as part of our focus on investing in the Cracker Barrel business,” said Cracker Barrel CFO Craig Pommells during an earnings call last year.
Image source: Greenberg/Universal Images Group/Getty Images
Cracker Barrel faces backlash
At the same time, Cracker Barrel has faced mass criticism for its $700 million transformation plan, revealed in August. This initiative aimed to remodel stores and update the brand’s identity by redesigning its longtime logo and modernizing its classic country-style decor.
The restaurant revamp was meant to be tested on 25 to 30 stores in fiscal 2025, trading its traditional Southern décor for a more modern aesthetic.
In the midst of this, Cracker Barrel also revealed a new logo with a more minimalistic look that no longer featured the iconic man sitting next to a barrel, Herschel McCartney, the uncle of Cracker Barrel’s founder, Dan Evins.
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But things didn’t go as expected. These significant changes sparked massive backlash against the company on social media, with hundreds of fans accusing Cracker Barrel of abandoning its Southern roots.
Even U.S. President Donald Trump slammed the company on his social media platform, Truth Social, calling for Cracker Barrel to return to its original logo, manage the company better than before, and “make Cracker Barrel a winner again.”
Cracker Barrel suffers the consequences of its actions
The feedback led Cracker Barrel to make a public statement promising to reinstate its original logo, suspend store remodels, and begin executing new marketing, advertising, and social media initiatives that align with its heritage.
“The feedback we received from our guests in recent weeks on our brand refresh and store remodels has shown us just how deeply people care about Cracker Barrel. We thank our guests for sharing their voices and love for the brand and telling us when we’ve misstepped,” said Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Felss Masino in a recent earnings call.
While Cracker Barrel’s revenue increased 2.2% in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, the company now predicts a drop in sales and a comparable store traffic decline of 4% to 7% for fiscal 2026.
Its stock has also dropped, declining around 27% in a month as of September 20.
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