they were erasing the old white guy. I guess he didn't fare any better than Uncle Ben or Aunt Jemima.

but disappeared the native american girl.

After that Land 'o Lakes ass kissing stunt, there was an interview with an American Indian girl on the news...She said her family liked the old container with the girl on it....Just like many Mexicans like Speedy Gonzalez.

The trouble is that many decide to get offended for other people's sake when no offense was there to begin with.

Fox News had an interview with the felon's infamous "black," who showed up at all his rallies wearing really hip t-shirts. Anyhow, he said that slavery wasn't so bad, and that all museum and/or text book references suggesting otherwise should be burned, and replaced by Patrick Buchanan books.

Just goes to show how people get upset over nothing, don't you know!

Good luck

The art was beautiful and created the mystique of the northern lakes (Lake Superior area, although flowage is often to the Mississippi)
It's an area of low population, woods, lakes, cabins and Indian Reservations. It reminded me of cold fresh water and ancient glaciers that make Minnesota the "Land of 10,000 Lakes".

However, they don't make butter or have cows in that part of the state! The industry is timber. (Well in some areas it's iron mining)

When they got rid of the girl, it reminded me that butter was produced in the boring grazed southern part of Minnesota in generic farms with tons of corn! Yep Land o Lakes is very likely produced in an area that look more like Iowa than the "Land O Lakes".

I just read that the painter of the original girl on the butter box was native American himself and he nicknamed his portrait subject "Mia".

There was no pejorative whatsoever in the original packaging.

My little sister showed how to fold the box so the knees looked like breasts. I think it took another 25yrs til the company figured it out. I think the papers made slight references to this.

I used to like Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, but as society continued to mature I realized that "I might snatch you up screamin' through the window all naked and do it to you on the roof" just wasn't cool anymore, and I wonder why I ever thought it was.

And a few years ago The Rolling Stones phased out Brown Sugar.

The other examples in this thread are similar. What used to be cool didn't change, society changed so that it wasn't so cool anymore.

Honestly feels like people look for reasons to be mad these days. CB probably just wanted a fresher look, nothing deeper than that

They were built around nostalgia for a country store archetype that was already mostly gone when they started in 1969. Those customers who flocked to it in the subsequent decades are dying out and the largely idealized past it harks back to means nothing to those born after the 1980s.

And their food isn't good enough to elicit patronage on its own.

Show of hands please, how many DU-ers have ever bought crackers from a barrel?

* crickets *

and also probably depends on what area of the world you live in.

Many younger people in the south used to visit Cracker Barrel on Sunday...The main problem is that the food quality has went to hell.

like oyster crackers from a general store circa about 1890? Asking the general store owner if you could get a pound of crackers, please?

No wax paper, no plastics, very little cardboard...The crackers or cookies would arrive in bulk and be sold the same way.

general store in the 1920's to about the 1950's, and she mentioned they sold crackers that way. This was in a small country that was still part of what was the British Empire at the time.

Before wrapping crackers and cookies was mainstream...

Thus the old saying "The bottom of the barrel", meaning the last cracker crumbs.

An Italian store in my childhood neighborhood had them,

If it's edible, it's usually candy like salt water taffy or something similar. Those stores are popular in areas (small towns) that sell antiques. I think nowadays, the barrels used are likely whisky barrels etc.

My 4th great grandfather supposedly escaped a pirated ship by being housted down in a whisky barrel. He stripped off his clothes and swam to shore. I don't know if the story is true, but it's there. He was a kid from Scotland who was homeless, so he got a job on a ship. The pirate was supposedly Black Beard. Coming to America pre-revolutionary war style!

The ritual of buying them like that included soaking them in a bowl to rehydrate the beans and to remove the little pinto bean sized rocks that came with every scoop full. I can attest even that didn’t get all of the stones. * ow! *

We’re talking decades since I saw it first hand.

Biting down on a hot little pinto bean sized rock. Yes, PSA, always soak your beans!

However, this is a fact: His son served in the revolutionary war. His son had 24 kids with 2 women and never married! One of his sons (a brother of my 2nd great grandfather) served as a state senator in North Carolina. In 1827, the son filed a resolution and got the whole gang legitimized.

And Black Bart seems to be a bit of a star.... just sayin'

Frankly I’ve always thought of it as a milquetoast “white” elderly place. I don’t know how it’s seen in communities of color but even white people, like me, joke about it being bland. We’ve eaten there on travels (though I hate to actually stop) or when our folks are in town.

I think the only thing I’ve ever sent back at a restaurant was chicken livers there. My brother, who’s worked in several restaurants, said it was the worst thing he’d ever seen served in a restaurant.

There is of course “The Cracker Barrel Challenge” which is trying to get three distinctly different colors of food on your plate. It’s not easy to do. There are lots of brown into beige items that normally aren’t that color.

Cracker Barrel scouts locations on well used interstate exits in area of the country that their brand is strong. I have been to the original location of the first store.

I knew a gentleman a few years ago that worked for their advertising and design team. All he did was go to local auctions and bid and buy the bric-a-brac that hung on their walls for new stores.

in the kitchen. Does anything there have garlic in it? Maybe garlic powder in the breading for chicken-fried-something.

If I was doing long distance traveling, I'd keep small containers of picante sauce and cayenne pepper in my purse. The former is for scrambled eggs, the latter is for mac and cheese.

That the food sucks. I never understood the appeal, except that their restrooms were clean.

Only been there one or 2 time many years ago. All I remember that I was pleased the broccoli wasn't overcooked. Probably I'd put them on par with Black Bear Diner

I had family visiting as and we stopped in after a long road trip. I forgot what I ordered but I was underwhelmed, and I'm not picky. Some of the groups meals were ok.i haven't been back.

but they closed. There are a couple of Black Bear Diners (which started in Central California), but they aren't worth the time. If you want Oregon-based chains, Elmer's and Original Pancake House have great breakfasts. Oregon-based Shari's (owners of Coco's) still exist, just not in Oregon.

On a scale of 1 - 10 of things to be outraged about, this ranks about a 1.

Last edited Sun Aug 24, 2025, 11:25 AM - Edit history (1)

Hell, 3 years ago the RW was outraged that Cracker Barrel added plant based “impossible sausage” to the menu.

A few weeks ago some liberal female podcaster made some reference to “just go eat at Cracker Barrel” and there was fainting and flailing about.

Now the logo and the clutching of pearls.

And they call US snowflakes.

was that anything that can be politicized, will be politicized.

Instead of facts and logic, beliefs and branding are central to our being.
It isn't the first time that this has happened.



iam pridem, ex quo suffragia nulli / vendimus, effudit curas; nam qui dabat olim / imperium, fasces, legiones, omnia, nunc se / continet atque duas tantum res anxius optat, / panem et circenses.

... Already long ago, from when we sold our vote to no man, the People have abdicated our duties; for the People who once upon a time handed out military command, high civil office, legions — everything, now restrains itself and anxiously hopes for just two things: bread and circuses.

—Juvenal,

The old logo had a cracker next to a barrel and they knew they were at the right place

out of the American eagle ad campaign within Sidney Sweeny . Even though most people have no opinion on the ad or no problem with it. There are a few career types that object to it but they do that with everything and everyone can comment anything online.

It's not policy issues that get these people to voter certain ways. It's this cultural thing where they can feel like they are sticking it to the liberals or they are being erased .

Policy might matter in situations where current economic situation is bad. And by that I mean things like losing a job and not decades long difficulties like cost of housing and cost of education and health care.

Kinda weird what things white supremacists assume are part of their racist heritage.

1) Shut the hell up about politics on either side... All that corporate ass kissing does is immediately alienate 1/2 of the country. it's not Cracker Barrel's job to be a social agent of change on either side. Sell your meals and be quiet about political issues.

2) Fix their current menu..It sucks and it has sucked for the last ten years.

A big 100 million dollar dive

...under this CEO, and it's not the food causing it.

Read my other comment on this. If you are in the "country food" business, then by and large, you need to cater to your existing clientele if you want to stay in business... If you attempt to push a social agenda that nearly anybody would tell you is going to reap massive resistance, then get ready to shitcan your business.

Social agendas on either side will not work when trying to "reach across the aisle". It pisses current customers off and doesn't attract new ones.

What has Cracker Barrel said about politics before they got pulled into it from MAGA over their recent rebranding?

Also...

You: "Fix their current menu..It sucks and it has sucked for the last ten years."

Also you: "The company has lost half a billion dollars under this CEO, and it's not the food causing it."

Which is it?

I'm not retyping it..

Their food does suck and it doesn't help sales with their regular customers, but that is not the headline here and it never would have been.

It's not a company CEO's responsibility to win any political/cultural wars.

I'm just asking, because I know certain people get really upset over companies getting """political""" and when you ask them to provide an example of what they are referring to -- they can't. They just heard other people were upset, so they figured they'd be upset as well. Even though in this particular case, the people mainly outraged are the MAGA types...

You seem very adamant that Cracker Barrel has been very outspoken and active when it comes to politics and I've never heard that, outside of the recent MAGA outrage because they changed their logo. So, I was asking for some examples. If they are as outspoken as you claim, it should be easy enough to provide a few from some reputable sources, right?

The last thing I remember about Cracker Barrel getting involved in anything political was back in the 1990s and there was an employment discrimination suit about them not hiring gay employees.

That was since rectified and I don't recall them being overtly political about anything since.

You're imaging stuff, dude. Stop.

She did the same political/cultural ass-kissing that Target, Harley Davidson and Bud Light tried, and she failed just like they did

Pandering is bullshit and a four year old can see through it...Not only that, but a private corporation has two goals. Make a great product and restaurant experience, and make money for its shareholders.

Did not know my mother-in-law joined DU.

To what you call "political/cultural ass-kissing"?

I googled a bit and it just seems they have a new marketing campaign called "All the More" and as part of that the logo was taken back to a simpler graphic.

it seems to me that the simpler graphic potentially reduces waste from printing errors (just guessing here from an IT background)

I don't think the new logo says ANYTHING about company policy ... and I did not find anything in my googling that justifies suddenly considering Cracker Barrel "woke". (Did they suddenly stop being anti-gay?)

I made an effort ... please give a link.

the fact that it was "killing our culture". It took a few minutes to partially digest that one.

God help the next throw rug that fool trips on.

And have been to HQ many times. I think it is a mistake. It made their patrons feel special and that is okay.

"I preferred the old logo" is the extent of my emotional involvement. Some of these clowns seen to be almost ready to attack Fort Sumter over it.

You can make money for years by just posting butthurt. There’s an audience there craving it.

RWers are accusing Cracker Barrel of being “woke,” but all that’s changed is that they are getting rid of the picture of the old guy in the logo.

In numerous ways.

But the primary way is because of the stores' interiors, not just the logo. The logo makes a good target, synecdoche, if you will, for the Martha-Stewartization of the rest of the brand's realia and what they call "woke" in management philosophy.

But how and why, and how its change signifies is a mystery to me.

They're a different species. It's a waste of time trying to draw meaning from anything they do.

Last edited Sun Aug 24, 2025, 09:57 AM - Edit history (1)

Biglari is the current CEO of Steak and Shake and has long been interested in taking over as CEO of Cracker Barrel. He's a RW nutjob, just look at how Steak and Shake has fully embraced the MAHA nonsense with "beef tallow fries". Biglari is hoping to stoke enough outrage that he can takeover the company.

There are a lot of good responses in this thread. Reading this thread pretty much sums up what we're up against: Americans identifying so closely with a company and its logo that they have lost all ability to reason. They are literally outraged that a company changed its logo because they think it means a liberal takeover of their culture.

This is why people voted for Trump. For real. As ridiculous as it sounds.

It made their patrons feel special and that is okay. I have been to HQ many times. We all like to identify with something and they identified with the image.

"We all like to identify with something..." and they choose to identify with a corporate logo?!

Cracker Barrel is a for-profit corporation. Their product has lost quality. Their focus on 1940s era nostalgia is out of style. Most people who were alive in the 1940s are no longer living. The company is losing money and apparently making changes to try to stay in business. It probably won't work.

I can't imagine why that would be terribly distressing to anybody except the shareholders and employees. I'm sorry for them but that's the capitalist way.

Most Cracker Barrel’s are at interstate exits. Long ago, you might have wanted to stop and sit down to eat on your trip to visit family, etc. But, I know that the last thing we want to do is make our 3 hour car trip turn into 4.5 hours because we sat down to eat. Most just want to get gas, pee, and go through a drive through. 20 minutes tops. So not sure if a logo change is going to help with that.

And you "cabled" all the sites? As in you sent telegrams?

Also I put the cat 5 cabling in for their cash registers.

adds to printing costs. I suspect the whole issue within the company was to cut costs. place i work at did the same thing about ten years ago. We had five images as part of our logo, and it was getting expensive to print everything. So, after much discussion, we came up with a new, simplified logo. Voila! Our printing costs went down quite a bit.

In the chain and I have been to HQ many times. Many of their patrons liked the feel of the place and that is okay. I think it is a mistake.

Is it like the UK version of our TV as in "telly"?

Something about this verbiage seems AI to me....Reminds me of certain YouTube videos that use AI narration...15 seconds in, and the "announcer" mispronounces the entire message.

In for the cash registers.

The cash registers.

All the bots do…

From 2024…

U.S. says Russian bot farm used AI to impersonate Americans

https://www.npr.org/2024/07/09/g-s1-9010/russia-bot-farm-ai-disinformation

It's having hard time staying in business. So, I suspect that the logo change is to remove the "country boy" feeling of the place. Its vibe has been the "country store" concept, with old men sitting around the cracker barrel jabbering on about local news and gossip. Small town rural crap, really.

So, that vibe has caused a lot of people to skip the place rather than stop in for a meal. The old crap hanging from the walls is coming down, too, which reinforces my sense of it.

The "good ol' boy" schtick is worn out. Most people see it as old-fashioned and maybe bigoted nonsense. So, Cracker Barrel corporate has decided to clen up the image and make it more universal and attractive to a broader range of potential customers. Problem is that the bigot crowd doesn't want them "woke" people anywhere near them.

So, I think the change isn't going to work. Instead of just alienating everyone who isn't a good ol' boy, they're now alienating those folks, too. The result? No customers at all.

Fail.

Because no one has talked about Cracker Barrel in years and suddenly they're all over the Internet. It's fucking epic.

A few years ago, International House of Pancakes—IHOP—announced it was going to change its name to Intentional House of Burgers—IHOB.

The public revolted at the idea of IHOP giving up its mainstay pancakes in its name.

A week or two later corporate said it was not changing its name at all and it was just a marketing campaign.

For better or worse it did get them a week or two of attention in the news.

with a "cracker" and a barrel. Some think it was a woke thing to do. I'm not sure anyone is sure why it has been so controversial. Either way, I'll eat their chicken and dumplings.

I used to love them but that was decades ago. I tried a CB a couple years ago and it was very disappointing.

Just like my grandma made them. We have a Cracker Barrel just down the street, and when I need a comfort meal, I still like the dumplings. Of course, my grandma wasn't necessarily known for her abilities as a cook, but it's what I grew up with.

tomorrow they'll whine about something else.

For many folks, the more outrage they feel, the more they want.

When supply runs low, they reach for the next thing. Like an alcoholic drinking mouthwash when the liquor cabinet is empty.

We have all seen citizens who take to their easy chair in front of the TV and spend their days in outrage at the changing world.

Subsequently, we end up with a political party outraged over Teletubbies, M&Ms, Barbie Dolls, pajama boys, and anyone and anything that is different from the orthodoxy back "when I was young".

Republicans have long recognized this addictive phenomenon and exploited it to their favor.

I reckon there are studies showing some kind of dopamine release from anger, but I don't really know.

They are scraping the bottom of the barrel for the last drops of that sweet outrage.

too bad we have a russian puppet government that will do nothing to stop putins cyber war crimes.

Logos matter. Symbols matter. Flags matter. Duh.

The CEO of Cracker Barrel needs to be canned if this tanks stock value and revenue...like it appears to be doing. What a truly stupid move.

..half a billion dollars since she was made the CEO.

Most democrats think rather than react. We don’t get all worked up about the flag or the cross because we know what they represent. If you go nuts because someone changed a logo there is no reaching you because you have a lizard brain.

The same people who invented the jeans ad “controversy” have invented this.

No one actually cares. The bots hit the internet and tell everyone that people are mad about it. A few dopes buy into it but no masses of people give a shit at all.

This one is particularly stupid. I don’t even see what the beef is and no one can explain it.

Because it’s not real.

I only know about it because of this controversy if that's what it is. Apparently it is some kind of cultural icon that has the right's panties in a twist but I can't make heads or tails of it. And I guess I'm actually glad about that.