Trending
Cracker Barrel's CEO is stepping down nearly a year after an attempted rebrand of the chain led to a fierce customer backlash.
Cracker Barrel said Monday that CEO Julie Masino will step down next month but remain with the company until Oct. 9 in an advisory capacity.
David Deno will succeed Masino on Aug. 10 as CEO. Deno served as the CEO of Bloomin' Brands, which owns Outback Steakhouse and other chains, from 2019 until he retired in 2024. He has also held executive roles as Best Buy and Yum Brands, which is the parent company of KFC and Taco Bell.
Lebanon, Tennessee-based Cracker Barrel hired Masino, a longtime Taco Bell and Starbucks executive, in July 2023.
Masino introduced updated menu items, like Hashbrown Casserole Shepherd's Pie, to increase Cracker Barrel's dinnertime traffic. She also started remodeling the company's dark, antique-filled restaurants, lightening the walls and installing more comfortable seating.
Then, last August, Cracker Barrel announced plans to ditch its longtime logo, which features an older, overall-clad man leaning on a barrel as well as the words "Old Country Store." The company said it would continue to honor Uncle Herschel -- the man in its logo, who represents the uncle of Cracker Barrel's founder -- on its menu and on items sold in its stores. But the new logo would be simpler and easier to read on road signs and in phone apps.
The backlash was immediate. Fans didn't like the new logo and also rebelled against the store redesigns.
Masino reversed course within a few days, but the damage was done. Cracker Barrel's same-store restaurant sales plunged 5% last fall and 7% in the quarter ending Jan. 30, 2026. Same-store sales at the retail stores connected to its restaurants dropped even further.
Still, the company's shareholders voted in November to keep Masino in place as CEO.