Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Felss Masino survived a yearlong firestorm that included public criticism from President Donald Trump, a proxy fight from a veteran activist investor, and a social-media revolt by reversing nearly every element of the strategy she had launched to modernize the family-dining chain, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Shares of Cracker Barrel surged as much as 35% on Tuesday after Masino told investors that a renewed focus on the brand’s core customers — returning to traditional kettle cooking, bringing back nostalgic menu items, and selling patriotic merchandise — was working. The stock closed up more than 22% at its highest price since September 2025.
” What I’ve always admired about Julie is her grit and determination, I think people underestimate her,” said Greg Creed, former Yum Brands CEO who led Taco Bell while Masino worked there as an executive.
Masino, recruited to Cracker Barrel in 2023, set a multiyear brand update in motion to modernize stores, menu and design. The effort included a redesigned logo, remodeling test stores, and pulling antique tchotchkes off walls. But when the logo was launched more broadly in fall 2025, critics accused the company of shunning its heritage. Some of the online backlash was driven by bots, the Journal reported.
Trump weighed in last August, writing on social media: “Cracker Barrel should go back to the old logo, admit a mistake based on customer response (the ultimate Poll), and manage the company better than ever before.”
In late August 2025 the company returned to its previous logo featuring the “Old Timer” icon and barrel. In early September it suspended its restaurant redesign test. Masino cut ties with the marketing firm behind the rebranding, brought back a former vice president for menu strategy, and elevated a veteran field operator to oversee store operations. In the kitchens, workers returned to kettle cooking for sides and stopped freezing biscuits in batches.
Activist investor Sardar Biglari, who had mounted repeated proxy fights at Cracker Barrel, launched a new one to remove Masino and board member Gilbert Dávila. Shareholders voted about 75% of shares in favor of keeping Masino — less support than the prior year but enough for her to retain her position. Dávila did not receive the necessary votes and resigned.
“We have been really clear. We put the remodel program on pause this year, given everything that happened to us,” Masino said on a call with investors. Instead of a Cracker Barrel pop-up in Manhattan, the company is promoting its brand at Speedway Motorsports races this summer. It is updating paint and bathrooms but has no immediate plans to resume the extensive store remodeling that sparked the outcry.
The company said it refocused on customers’ favorite foods, deals, and nostalgia. One bright spot: merchandise commemorating the 250th birthday of America, including Constitution T-shirts, flag pillows, and patriotic smock dresses, flew off shelves faster than expected. The return of nostalgic menu items such as campfire meals and ham dinners also helped woo back guests, the company said.
“The food is even more delicious, is made the way that they remember and the service is going to be out of this world,” Masino said.
Seema Threja, global head of executive recruitment firm Spencer Stuart’s hospitality and leisure practice, said corporate boards are increasingly looking for executives who can be agile in difficult situations. “Leaders are no longer being judged in a vacuum,” Threja said. “It’s around learning agility. Can a person take a hard signal and adjust?”
Despite the improved outlook, Cracker Barrel is not fully recovered. Restaurant customer traffic declined 6.7% year-over-year in the three months through May 1, an improvement from the prior quarter but still a loss. Foot-traffic data from Placer.ai showed visits in May down 5.7% from a year earlier. The company’s market capitalization is about $550 million below its highs from last year.
Masino acknowledged that the recovery remains fragile. The company warned that rising gasoline prices and lower-income consumers further tightening their belts and eating out less could weigh on sales. That risk echoes the broader inflation pressure documented in May’s Consumer Price Index data, which showed an effective inflation rate of 4.2% — higher for lower-income households that spend a greater share of their budgets on essentials.
“It’s just some real hard work,” Masino said.