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Julie Felss Masino and Cracker Barrel: The Logo Backlash and the Fight to Keep Her Job
Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Felss Masino faced backlash over an August 2025 logo change the chain soon reversed, then survived an activist push to oust her. Continue Reading Julie Felss Masino and Cracker Barrel: The Logo Backlash and the Fight to Keep Her Job
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1 year agoon
Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Felss Masino found herself at the center of a national firestorm in August 2025 after the restaurant chain unveiled a new, simplified logo. Within about a week the company reversed course, and Masino later survived a shareholder push to remove her.
Who is Julie Felss Masino?
Masino became CEO of Cracker Barrel in July 2023. She launched a roughly $700 million transformation plan to refresh the brand with new advertising, updated menus, seasonal food and remodeled restaurants. In 2024 she said the changes were meant to help the chain “regain relevancy.”
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The logo change
The new logo removed the barrel and “Uncle Herschel,” the man seated in a chair who had appeared in Cracker Barrel branding since 1977, leaving a plain text wordmark. The redesign drew immediate backlash on social media, especially from conservative commentators including Donald Trump Jr., Charlie Kirk and Christopher Rufo, who framed it as a “woke” rebrand. Actor James Woods said he would never return. Cracker Barrel’s stock fell more than 12% in a single day.
The reversal
About a week after the rollout, Cracker Barrel announced it would keep its old logo. The company said people “care deeply” about the brand, admitted it could have done a better job explaining “who we are,” and said Uncle Herschel would remain on menus, in stores and on roadside signs. It pledged to keep “testing, learning and listening” to guests and employees.
The fight over Masino’s job
Activist investor Sardar Biglari, who owns about 3% of Cracker Barrel’s shares, pushed shareholders to remove Masino and director Gilbert Davila. At the annual shareholder meeting, shareholders voted to keep Masino as CEO. Davila resigned from the board after preliminary results showed he had lost his reelection bid.
Why it matters
The episode became a case study in how fast brand changes can become political flashpoints online, and how quickly a company can lose investor confidence when longtime customers feel their identity is being erased.
Sources: Associated Press via NBC Palm Springs, Associated Press via WRTV, FOX Business.
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