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Traffic at Cracker Barrel locations is yet to fully recover from the backlash against its failed rebrand last year despite signs of improvement, company executives said on the restaurant chain’s most recent earnings call.
The company has been looking to put itself on a more solid financial footing after sales slumped in response to the unsuccessful rebrand that included the removal of the “old timer” from the company’s logo and changes to the restaurant chain’s interior layout, which has long featured a general store.
Cracker Barrel announced on Monday that CEO Julie Masino will step down from the role this summer, with David Deno set to take the helm of the company on Aug. 10. The move follows a slow recovery from the attempted rebrand.
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The company noted in its third-quarter earnings last month that while traffic was improving relative to the recent trend, it remained lower than it was in the prior year.
Masino said, “Q3 results exceeded our expectations, driven by our operating and cost actions, while guest-facing metrics continue to improve, and position us for further traffic recovery.”
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CBRL | CRACKER BARREL OLD COUNTRY STORE INC. | 53.26 | -0.46 | -0.85% |
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“Comparable store restaurant sales decreased 2.6%, which included a traffic decline of 6.7%,” said Cracker Barrel CFO Craig Pommells. “Although traffic remained negative, we are encouraged by the gradual improvement in the underlying trend.”
Pommells said that “controlling for the variability between last year’s third and fourth quarters and the resulting comparison in the current year, the underlying traffic trend continues to show gradual improvement.”
Cracker Barrel’s stock is down about 18% from a year ago, remaining well below its pre-rebrand levels.
However, it has made significant progress in getting back to those levels this year; the company’s stock is up 105% since the start of 2026.
The company has taken steps recently that aim to improve its financial performance.
CRACKER BARREL SALES, TRAFFIC CONTINUE TO SLUMP MONTHS AFTER FAILED REBRAND
Last week, Cracker Barrel announced that it will sell some of its restaurant properties as well as exiting its Maple Street Business Company business. It sold the Maple Street brand and 35 of its locations to Biscuit Belly LLC, with Cracker Barrel closing the remaining 16 Maple Street restaurants.
The company also completed a sale-leaseback deal involving 26 company-owned locations, which generated about $77 million in net proceeds that it planned to use to pay down debt, while continuing to operate the restaurants by leasing the properties from the new owner.
“A brand isn’t what management wants it to be,” said brand expert Bruce Turkel. “It’s what customers believe it is.”
FOX Business’ Sophia Compton contributed to this report.
