'Pitiful' — What Cracker Barrel's Original Co-Founder Thought About The Brand's Recent Logo Disaster

The Cracker Barrel logo fiasco just keeps spiraling and now the company's original co-founder has weighed in on. Just to recap, Cracker Barrel decided to update their logo not too long ago. The change dropped the image of the man, aka Uncle Herschel, and the barrel, replacing it with a simpler wordmark, and it did not go over well. Within hours, there was a conservative media backlash and company stock dropped like a barrel down a flight of stairs, leading to the return of the old logo. Original co-founder Tommy Lowe had some blunt words to share about it all.

"That's bland nothing," Lowe told News Channel 5 when they asked him about the brand's logo change. "Pitiful." In Lowe's estimation, the company is trying to modernize in an attempt to be more like the competition, but he sees a problem with that, "Cracker Barrel doesn't have any competition."

Lowe would certainly know better than most. It was he, along with co-founder Dan Evins, who started the franchise in 1969. They opened their first location in Lebanon, Tennessee, after taking a long time to find investors. When it finally paid off, they had a country store and restaurant combo with a gas bar out front. Lowe served as VP of Operations at Cracker Barrel before joining the board for many years, and he likely has more insight into the company than most.

Cracker Barrel has had more than its fair share of problems in recent years, even before the logo debacle. Earlier in the summer, news broke that Cracker Barrel had been updating the look of their restaurants and getting rid of that iconic decor. The Southern charm and walls packed with decorations, art, and knickknacks nearly disappeared, replaced by stark white paint and spartan artistic flair. Many customers were not happy.

In 2024, Cracker Barrel announced what it called the largest menu test in its history. New menu items like green chile cornbread and cinnamon bread French toast were tested, with a promise that classic items would stay the same. The updated menu has since been criticized. Staples like biscuits and chicken pot pie are still around, but have been called out for being poorer quality.

A year ago, the company's stock was tumbling, and current CEO Julie Fells Masino attributed it to Cracker Barrel no longer being relevant. It was then they pledged to spend $700 million updating the brand. Lowe says he has never met or spoken to Masino, and he doesn't think she knows much about the story of Cracker Barrel.

For his part, Lowe thinks Cracker Barrel needs two things to succeed, the same qualities the restaurant had from the beginning — simplicity and authenticity. "If they don't get back to keeping it country," he said, "then it ain't gonna work."