After a week of intense online scrutiny and a significant drop in market value, the restaurant chain reverses course, bringing back its beloved “Old Timer” logo.
Cracker Barrel announced Tuesday that it would reverse its controversial rebrand, caving to massive public backlash and reinstating its classic logo featuring the “Old Timer” character. The company’s decision, posted on X (formerly Twitter), comes just over a week after the new, simplified logo was unveiled, sparking a firestorm of criticism from customers and a nearly $100 million drop in market value.
The chaos began on August 18 when the popular American chain restaurant announced a “new fall menu creative campaign” that included a redesigned logo. The new design shed the iconic “Old Timer” character, Uncle Herschel, for a plain text sign reading only “Cracker Barrel.”
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The company’s press statement on the rebrand claimed the updated visuals were “rooted even more closely to the iconic barrel shape and word mark that started it all.”
However, the move was met with immediate and widespread condemnation online. Users accused the company of stripping away its brand identity, with some rival chains, such as Steak ‘n Shake, weighing in to criticize the decision to “delete” its “personality altogether.”
The financial fallout was swift, with CBS News reporting that Cracker Barrel’s market value fell by $4.22, or 7.2%, to $54.80 in Thursday’s trading, a loss of almost $100 million.
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The pressure intensified on Tuesday when President Donald Trump took to Truth Social, urging the company to “Make Cracker Barrel a WINNER again” and “go back to the old logo, admit a mistake based on customer response (the ultimate Poll), and manage the company better than ever before.”
The company had initially stood firm on its decision, releasing a statement on Monday that acknowledged customer voices but maintained they would not revert to the previous logo. However, the tide turned by Tuesday evening.
“We thank our guests for sharing your voices and love for Cracker Barrel. We said we would listen, and we have,” the company’s new statement on X read. “Our new logo is going away and our ‘Old Timer’ will remain.”
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