Cracker Barrel Old Country Store is calling off its makeover.
After months of customer outrage over revamped logos, redesigned dining rooms and lower food quality, the Tennessee-based restaurant chain announced Tuesday that it’s suspending its store remodels and doubling down on the food that made it famous.
“You’ve shared your voices in recent weeks, not just on our logo, but also on our restaurants. We’re continuing to listen,” Cracker Barrel said in a statement on social media.
“Today, we’re suspending our remodels. If your restaurant hasn’t been remodeled, you don’t need to worry, it won’t be. With our recent announcement that our ‘Old Timer’ logo will remain, along with our bigger focus in the kitchen and on your plate, we hope that today’s step reinforces that we hear you.”
The reversal follows months of uproar from loyal customers who accused the brand of abandoning its nostalgic Southern style.
At the forefront of that movement was Rachel Love, a 38-year-old Tennessee woman whose April TikTok video went viral when she called out Cracker Barrel for taking away “the last piece of nostalgia you had left.”
Love told Fox News Digital that this week’s announcement felt like vindication.
“I was super excited, but it’s been a long time coming,” she said.
Her criticism of what she calls Cracker Barrel’s “barn-dominium look” struck a nerve with fans. Viral videos and thousands of comments soon followed, mostly echoing her frustration that the chain was rebranding instead of putting the focus on food quality.
Love said she believes Cracker Barrel’s future lies in “being relatable.”
“We don’t go there for the logo,” she said. “We go there for the food, for the familiarity, for the nostalgic feeling that you get.”
She suggested Cracker Barrel return to its roots by offering “meat-and-three” meals again, bringing real cooks back to the kitchen and ending modernization trends that alienate longtime customers.
“Quit trying to make it something it’s not,” she said. “That’s one thing. It’s the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store. Old. It’s old. It’s in the name.”
Cracker Barrel’s reversal represents a chance to repair its relationship with loyal fans like Love, she suggested.
“The healing absolutely begins now,” Love said, adding that this is Cracker Barrel’s chance to “shine.”
“It’s an exciting new path that they have and, if they do this right, I feel like it could be a huge comeback for them. But they have to make it great again. Make Cracker Barrel great again.”
Whether Cracker Barrel follows through on its promise to put a “bigger focus in the kitchen and on your plate” remains to be seen. For now, the Old Country Store charm isn’t going anywhere, apparently – and that’s exactly how fans want it.
“I want to see it succeed. I’m passionate about it,” Love said. “I love their meatloaf. I do it for the meatloaf.”
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