Cracker Barrel

Ransom

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Can someone please explain the real substance of this controversy to me? We don't have this chain up here, and I find it hard to believe there is so much weeping and gnashing of teeth over a logo and decor change, something restaurants have been doing forever.
 
Can someone please explain the real substance of this controversy to me? We don't have this chain up here, and I find it hard to believe there is so much weeping and gnashing of teeth over a logo and decor change, something restaurants have been doing forever.
My guess is that Cracker Barrel is a Southern thang. You know how them southerners are about change.

Mrs. abcaines and I went to the Cracker Barrel in Joplin Missouri as a farewell to the South when we visited last year.

Interestingly, there is one in Coeur d'Alene ID. I never paid much attention to it... Only noticed them in the South.
 
Can someone please explain the real substance of this controversy to me? We don't have this chain up here, and I find it hard to believe there is so much weeping and gnashing of teeth over a logo and decor change, something restaurants have been doing forever.
In the proverbial vacuum, CB’s rebranding would be barely relevant, but (as we all know) the cultural climate is anything but a vacuum. Companies rebrand regularly, usually because of a response to a downturn in sales, negative PR or by expectations of future problems. But, as we saw in the Bud Light and Sweeney’s Jeans campaigns, politics permeates almost everything today. The rebranding appears to be a deliberate move to affirm a new executive’s political predilection. It has also put a spotlight on CB’s promotion and support of gays and gay rights.

Personally, I’d just as soon eat at our local diner.
 
The rebranding appears to be a deliberate move to affirm a new executive’s political predilection. It has also put a spotlight on CB’s promotion and support of gays and gay rights.

I thought that particular issue was around 8-10 years ago? So it wouldn't have anything to do with the current executive,, and it seems to me not much to do with the current outrage. (I mean, if they're just realizing CB supports Big Gay now..)
 
Yeah, but no one claiming CB has "gone woke" is being particularly specific. What's so "woke" about a low-effort logo change?
“Cracker Barrel has historically played Christian music, including gospel, as part of its regular in-store music rotation. For decades, the restaurant has focused on traditional country, bluegrass, and gospel music to create a nostalgic atmosphere and appeal to its Southern heritage.”

Contrast that with this:

They now celebrate “Pride month” while pushing DEI initiatives with an LGBTQ+ alliance.


This is the statement put out by the new management.

On behalf of Cracker Barrel’s LGBTQ+ Alliance & DEIB Team, we want to celebrate YOU for being YOU. It is our greatest Mission to ensure that Pleasing People means “all people.” LGBTQ+ Pride month each June is an important time to reflect on the Stonewall Riots that began on June 28, 1969, evoking activists to demand change for the LGBTQ+ community in America. As June prompts us to reflect on the core values of PRIDE: People/Professionalism, Respect, Integrity, Diversity, and Excellence, Cracker Barrel believes these are core pillars that should guide our decisions year-round.”

 
But, as I said, the Instagram post and news story are from two years ago. Concerning, sure, but unrelated to the current CEO (who was hired months later) or the present moral panic.
 
But, as I said, the Instagram post and news story are from two years ago. Concerning, sure, but unrelated to the current CEO (who was hired months later) or the present moral panic.
This is no reflection on you but people who don't know the difference between a ring and a rang would never understand.
 
I thought that particular issue was around 8-10 years ago? So it wouldn't have anything to do with the current executive,, and it seems to me not much to do with the current outrage. (I mean, if they're just realizing CB supports Big Gay now..)

I think some have just discovered such.
As for me personally I think it’s way overblown.
 
I think some have just discovered such.
As for me personally I think it’s way overblown.

That's what I see as well. Either it's a country-fried nothingburger, or it's a slow-burning moral issue that for some reason people are just getting upset over now.
 
I had no idea about the woke deal. Like I said, I never paid attention to the CB two hours north of here. I don't see me changing much going forward.

Even so, come quickly, Lord!
 
Yeah, but no one claiming CB has "gone woke" is being particularly specific. What's so "woke" about a low-effort logo change?
Being a nutty Canadian you might not realize that people in the Southern United States like to keep the COUNTRY and Deep South feel. It worked well until Canadians, Californians, and other blue-state interlopers started moving in in droves to escape the policies of their poorly governed states, trying to turn our states into the ones they fled. It's not just about the logo change. It's what that change represents. For one is the issue of the man who created that logo. His relatives see it as a slap in the face to remove the man's depiction of himself, an old time Southerner and Southern life. The logo, the ambiance, and the old fashioned Southern hospitality served this company well until this current corporate administration started making decisions that have led to slower sales and growth.
 
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