Crackerless Barrel

Overview of Cracker Barrel's History

• Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. is a well-known American restaurant and gift store chain founded in 1969. The first location opened in Lebanon, Tennessee, and was designed to attract travelers along highways. Founding and Early Years (1969-1980)
• Founder: Dan Evins, who aimed to boost gasoline sales by creating a restaurant-gas station combo.
• First Location: Opened on September 19, 1969, near Interstate 40.
• Concept: Modeled after traditional country stores, featuring Southern cuisine and a welcoming atmosphere.
• Uncle Herschel : Herschel McCartney was Cracker Barrel Old Country Store’s founder Dan Evins’ real uncle, the younger brother of Evins’ mother. He helped shape not only Cracker Barrel’s image but also its values. He was our own “goodwill ambassador” to the public. Uncle Herschel was a wealth of knowledge about what rural America’s old country stores were really like. He was a salesman for Martha White Flour Company for 32 years, traveling the rural South calling on many towns’ general stores. Like many Cracker Barrels today, the community general stores were more than just a place to purchase goods. They were a gathering place for folks to take a timeout from the chore-filled day to visit with a neighbor or two, exchange pleasantries or just talk about the weather.
  Herschel spent many workdays traveling to these old country stores that were complete with cracker barrels, checker boards and rockers on the front porch. He was quite a storyteller himself and became a familiar and friendly face among the locals in many southern communities.
  After his retirement, Herschel brought the long-standing tradition of being a good neighbor to each and every Cracker Barrel store. He spent most of his working life bringing forth the important yet simple message of what makes a business successful – that people should be treated just as we would have them treat us. He was known throughout Cracker Barrel for his genuine sincerity.
  Herschel is a significant figure in the history of Cracker Barrel, both as a namesake for a popular menu item and as a representation of the company's values and culture. He was known for his warm personality and his commitment to the principle of treating others with kindness, famously stating, "Treat everyone as you’d like to be treated yourself."
  This philosophy became a cornerstone of Cracker Barrel's customer service ethos.
  
  
  
  Uncle Herschel, as depicted in the Cracker Barrel branding, is often associated with wearing overalls. This attire reflects the traditional Southern farmer or country gentleman look, embodying the rustic charm and warmth that Cracker Barrel aims to convey through its image and dining experience. The overall style is a nod to the simplicity and comfort of rural life, aligning with the restaurant's focus on home-cooked meals and Southern hospitality.
• Growth and Expansion (1981-2000)
• Public Offering: Became publicly traded in 1981, raising funds for expansion.
• Rapid Growth: By the late 1980s, Cracker Barrel had over 50 locations and continued to expand throughout the 1990s and 2000s.
• Menu: Focused on Southern comfort food, including biscuits, grits, and country ham.
• Challenges and Controversies (1990s-2000s)
• Discrimination Lawsuits: Faced multiple lawsuits for racial discrimination, leading to a significant settlement in the early 2000s, which has brought about needed change that can be backed up by God's word.
• Policy Changes: Adjusted policies in response to NGO backlash regarding anti-LGBT stances, bowed to these ungodly forces departing from a wholesome family environment In 2004, Cracker Barrel was criticized for its policy of firing employees who were found to be gay or who supported LGBTQ+ rights.
• Turning against nature and against founding principals: Cracker Barrel was originally given a score of zero when the CEI debuted in 2002. Later that year, the franchise added "sexual orientation" to its list of characteristics protected by its employment discrimination policy. Over time, Cracker Barrel’s score increased. It achieved a score of 80 in 2021 after it had taken some high-profile pro-LGBT stands.
  
• Recent Developments (2011-Present)
• Journey to woke: Cracker Barrel over the past decade has worked closely with the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), changing its company culture to be more inclusive and LGBT-friendly ahead of its controversial store rebrand. The restaurant chain’s former management and training leader, Steve Smotherman, who is gay and spearheaded an LGBT employee resource group at Cracker Barrel, went on to sit on the HRC’s Business Advisory Council, Upward News reported. "For more than ten years of my time at Cracker Barrel, I had an emphasis on Diversity & Inclusion, especially with LGBTQ workplace inclusion. My training background allowed me to understand the steps of adult learning, facilitate difficult conversations and be effective at it [sic] Diversity & Inclusion content," Smotherman, who joined the company in 2005, wrote. He co-founded an LGBT Employee Resource Group: why being gay in the workplace should not be an issue.
• 2014: it pulled "Duck Dynasty" products from its shelves after star Phil Robertson made remarks that many deemed to be homophobic.
• 2019: the restaurant chain barred a pastor from hosting an event at one of its 660 locations after he preached that homosexuals were "freaks" and "animals" who are "worthy of death" in a sermon.
• 2023: the "Old Country Store" celebrated Pride by unveiling rainbow-colored rocking chairs.
• 2024: Cracker Barrel sponsored the Nashville Pride Parade.
• Cracker Barrel is now in the crosshairs of consumer backlash after it unveiled a new logo and restaurant redesign. The logo, which drops the imagery of a man leaning over a barrel and instead just has the restaurant’s name in black text over a yellow barrel-shaped backdrop, has elicited sharp criticism online.
• Current Operations: As of 2024, Cracker Barrel operates approximately 660 locations across 45 states, maintaining its focus on Southern hospitality and comfort food.
• Brand Refresh: In August 2025, Cracker Barrel lost their mind and soul, abandoning their iconic logo with the image of Uncle Herschel, unveiling a new text-only logo, marking a hat tip to the far left and like organizations like the woke Human Rights Council. They maintain that is merely a call back to Cracker Barrel's 1969 roots which is just a creative opening to sanitize the logo to remove the old white man.
Cracker Barrel has evolved over the years while remaining a staple for travelers and families seeking a nostalgic dining experience until August of 2025, and has begun its devolution to the ocean of mediocre cookie cutter woke inspired 'dining experiences'.

I've been eating at Cracker Barrel for over 25 years.

The food is just as much of the draw as the atmosphere, with the decor of old equipment and pictures that always spark conversation with old and young family members and friends.

You can change seating.

You might paint the walls white to lighten up the rooms so we can see the decor.

However, Julie, if you, infected by the woke mind virus, listen to the voices in your head and that think that 'change' needs to be made to 'stay relevant', to be 'more inclusive' by bending to these of unsound mind, and you destroy the things that make Cracker Barrel ... Cracker Barrel ... like the logo, and also remove the decor, you'll lose Cracker Barrel's identity and what makes Cracker Barrel special and it will just be a regular cookie cutter identityless restaurant and lose the patronage of me and my family and friends that regularly dine there and countless other loyal customers. We'll only stop in on road trips to use the bathroom.

• Double-down on what made Cracker Barrel ... Cracker Barrel
• Good Quality Comfort Food Offerings and Portions: Like many restaurants trying to cut costs over time, you’ve cut back on quality, and portion size. You can’t reduce both and survive. Start with increasing quality then maybe increase portion size.
  Personally, I really like the Hashbrown Casserole Shepherd's Pie, and have had it at least 5 out of 7 of the last times I've been to Cracker Barrel this year. I can say that it has been the same everytime. Hot, tasty, full of the same amount of pot roast chunks. I've had no complaints about our Cracker Barrel other than the hostesses sometimes having trouble figuring out how to pull together tables for the 15 to 20 we bring. It works out and we tip well.
  Now back to you ... ironically, the websites that are rolling your name in the mud could be seen as a wealth of free knowledge to consider for improvements. Many people are angry at your brainless changes, but then many turn around and mention what they miss about Cracker Barrel from dining experiences of the past and just wish that it would change back to that. You should read as many reviews as you can and use that information to restore the luster of Cracker Barrel and return it to a better market position.
• Served in Clean Restaurants: You need to start randomly, secretly, auditing restaurants for cleanliness. When you find issues, don’t beat up the management or staff. Meet with them in private, identify the issues, step in like servant leaders and help address the issues and create solutions.
  Then let them know that they will experience tough love and unhappy trails if you come back and find the same conditions / issues.
• Southern Charm and Hospitality: Maybe hire a couple older, experienced locals at each store as a local ambassador, to sit outside in a rocking chair and welcome guests during peek hours and maybe strike-up conversations and share some local color and history and stories.
  Don't hire the Dylans though, unless you want families to turn around and head back to their cars