After a screeching U-turn on its controversial logo, Cracker Barrel has now quietly scrapped a dedicated Pride page on its website.
‘Representing Cracker Barrel’s LGBTQ+ Alliance & DEIB Team, we want to honor YOU for being YOUR true self. Our ultimate Mission is to make sure that Pleasing People means respecting ‘all people,’ as stated on Cracker Barrel’s Pride page before it was removed.
The URL now redirects visitors to its ‘Culture & Belonging’ page, revised to speak more broadly about company culture.
Additionally, Cracker Barrel has taken down references to employee resource groups, including those centered on LGBTQ+ support and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging efforts, from various sections of its website.
A spokesperson for the company explained that these adjustments are part of broader website updates, realigning sponsorships to focus more on corporate giving projects that address issues like food insecurity and reducing food waste.
The move follows a firestorm over Cracker Barrel’s first logo redesign in 48 years.
Cracker Barrel has faced ongoing disputes regarding LGBTQ+ issues, notably having a past policy of firing employees who did not exhibit ‘normal heterosexual values.’
The company only started acknowledging Pride Month on its social media platforms in 2018, which led to criticism from conservatives accusing them of ‘yielding to pressure,’ drawing negative reactions from some of its more traditional patrons.
On social media, users are humorously suggesting that Cracker Barrel’s future may rely on Sydney Sweeney. A digitally altered image of her on X, seemingly created with AI, has also gone viral.
Cracker Barrel launched a new logo on August 19, only to change it back days later
This latest website purge appears to mark another pivot away from publicly promoting LGBTQ+ initiatives.
It follows the logo controversy, which began last Tuesday (August 19) when the chain debuted a new logo for the first time in 48 years. The redesign removed the image of an old man leaning against a barrel and left just the name in a new font.
It also eliminated the pinto bean shape behind the name, a nod to one of the original side dishes offered when Cracker Barrel first opened in 1969.
Critics said the changes stripped away the brand’s character and charm, and the backlash cost the company nearly $100 million in market value last week.
Some critics compared the rebrand to Bud Light’s infamous Dylan Mulvaney campaign.
Memes showed Mulvaney alongside the ‘new’ logo, or with her Bud Light cans swapped for the barrels axed from Cracker Barrel’s design.
Another viral edit put Sydney Sweeney in a T-shirt with the old logo, with captions declaring she was the only one who could ‘save Cracker Barrel.’
Even President Donald Trump weighed in on the change, telling Cracker Barrel bosses to scrap the new logo.
Cracker Barrel quietly axed its Pride webpages following its logo redesign fiasco
The Pride webpages included information on LGBTQ+ and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging groups
CEO Julie Felss Masino claimed fans were responding positively to Cracker Barrel’s modernization
Cracker Barrel ultimately capitulated, announcing a return to the classic design on Tuesday, a week after it was unveiled.
The controversy over the new logo comes as the company overhauls its 650 restaurants nationwide, swapping rustic southern-style interiors for a modern look.
The redesign — the chain’s first in 48 years — removes the iconic old man leaning on a barrel as well as the pinto bean shape behind the name, a nod to one of the original side dishes offered when Cracker Barrel opened in 1969.
Critics say the changes stripped away the brand’s character and charm.
President Donald Trump weighed in on the change, demanding the chain ‘go back to the old logo’ and ‘admit a mistake based on customer response.’
The chain defended the revamp decision before scrapping it — leading to a 2.3 percent jump in shares.
‘We thank our guests for sharing your voices and love for Cracker Barrel. We said we would listen, and we have. Our new logo is going away and our ‘old timer’ will remain,’ the company said.
The chain will continue to work on modernizing all its restaurants — which has also ignited backlash.
CEO Julie Felss Masino claimed customers and employees liked all the changes — and that managers in Florida repeatedly asked her when their restaurants could be updated.
Of the changes to its website, Cracker Barrel said: ‘In connection with the company’s brand work, we have recently made updates to the Cracker Barrel website, including adding new content and removing out-of-date content.
‘Several months ago, the company also made changes to our Business Resource Groups that now focus all sponsorships or events on our corporate giving initiatives: addressing food insecurity, supporting community needs through food, and reducing food waste.’
