I don't think that the old logo is great either, and the update did improve on technical aspects. You don't want to have all that small text, for example. And generally, simpler logos are preferable.

But...their shtick is a rustic feel. Whatever you can say about the original logo, it did evoke that. I have a hard time seeing the new one doing that.

EDIT: I also think that this compares favorably to another controversial recent rebrand: Musk rebranding Twitter, which was generally seen as not a good idea; Twitter already had a strong brand identity. People weren't happy and Musk went right ahead with it regardless. At Cracker Barrel, the initial response was "calm down, it'll be okay", but they were willing to second-guess themselves, even though I expect that there were people there who were invested in the rebrand.

EDIT2: They'd also done smaller, more incremental changes to the logo in the past, because the "Old Country Store" text had had its typeface changed at some point in the past.

EDIT3: Here's a more-comprehensive history:

https://dwglogo.com/cracker-barrel-logo/

How was it awful?

Could you tell me what the heck this yellow blob shape is supposed to be?

From a purely graphic design perspective, the classic logo is too busy and doesn't scale well. The only thing it has going for it is the weirdness of the shape and the distinct color combination. It's technically a really bad logo. You may not prefer the new logo but, technically, it's a whole lot better. It's far more adaptable to newer platforms while stilling being recognizable. Now, as far as being an effective representation of the brand and if that's a corporate concern, I don't know that I can comment on that.

Kinda wish the public had a similar outrage when Fruit of the Loom modernized their logo in 2000, lol

Who gives a fuck? Let's focus on the fascist takeover happening in every city in the country, and the billionaires almost completely winning the war on the populace.

It was fine, Jesus Christ

Yes, but did you go unhinged calling it "woke"? The logo was a poor fit and I could get behind it, but so many MAGAs losing it over calling a lame logo "woke"....

The whole restaurant is complete ass.

Because everything in the United States has been turned into "us vs them" crap.

Bunch of snowflakes wanting their safe space

Nothing wrong with Comic Sans. It’s highly readable for many people.

It was really shit rebrand though

Jaguar cars: am I a joke to you?

The war on Christmas CANNOT END until Christmas ceases its illegal occupation of November.

We are once again calling on the Claus regime to return to their side of the borders outlined in the Black Friday agreement.

I just want people to start complaining about "x-mas" again so I can explain very slowly what the Greek letter Chi is.

So the war on Christmas is odd on a theological and economic level. The secular (pagan?) Side is driven by corporations not the woke left. A fact often ignored by the evangelical right.

So what solution do they even want? A commercial with Jesus on the cross saying he thirts and having a Roman soldier pass him a chilled and refreshing coca cola?

Maybe a nativity where one of the wisemen is like and we got something for Joseph too and hand him a power saw?

Wtf

I've already fired my first salvo. By now I would have had at least three or four gifts already purchased and ready for the Christmas season. I haven't even bothered. And I won't. It's going to be a lean Christmas and it's going to hurt the capitalist assholes who are fucking up our country.

I'm still fighting the good didn't against it until Lowe's put up a Halloween display in fucking August!!! Now it's just about containment. If we can keep them in their own months I would be happy

Non-conservatives give a shit about cracker barrel?

The news sells better and is more engaging when you put it is conservative backslash instead of just overall negative reaction

Yes. It was.

Just from a design perspective, there was too much wasted space

I only learned about it when I saw headlines about the backlash that was costing them millions.

My first reaction after figuring out it was not the Onion was....are they still in business? I honestly didn't know they were still operating. I looked on the map in the Denver area and the one I thought was in Littleton/Lakewood area either is a figment of my imagination, or they closed.

The general reaction may have been negative, but the conservatives went unhinged accusing the new logo of being "woke"

[Other Party]’s general population is totally upset about something [Our Party] thinks is good or even doesn’t give a fuck about!

We must be reactionary over the most trivial stupid shit and bicker and deflect from [List of Enormous Issues and Catastrophes], and create a new issue for everyone to point fingers about!

/s

Personally, I think it looks terrible and I’m a die-hard lefty/socialist/liberal whatever you wanna call me. I don’t eat there and don’t give a fuck about them, but this media attention over this “controversy” has pushed me to form an opinion on something I wouldn’t otherwise care about — and honestly if conservatives hate it, then fuck, I agree with them for once because it looks fuckin’ soulless and terrible lol.

Maybe this success will inspire them to redirect their attention from politics to corporate branding practices.

People are bored because their lives are easy. That will change soon.

same thing happened with the sydney sweeney ad. all i care about is them titties

Probably not at Cracker Barrel, but I suppose anything's possible.

There was a man on the old logo and no man on the new logo. Totally woke.

What the fuck is “woke” supposed to mean in this context? What makes this bland logo change “woke”?

Woke is anything that I don't like.

They had some lgbt hires and dei stuff a few years ago and the ceo and is a woman so the new logo is clearly the end result of all that woke (reading: anything not catering to straight white males) nonsense

Don't you know there are only two opinions in the world? Conservative and Liberal. Everything is neatly sorted into those two opinions. All questions, physical items, debates, people, opinions, foods, roller coasters, pickles, etc. All of it is Either Conservative or Liberal. Democrat or Republican. Whig or ...torry? I dont know. I mean, how could a rational human like fried chicken, grits, antiques, etching style line art, biscuits and old-fashioned candy without also hating Mexicans and hating killing babies?

Yeah I don't think it's actually a Republican thing. Maybe their locations just overlap with Republican areas?

Personally I think the new logo is dumb, but I've also never even seen a Cracker Barrel in real life, let alone patronized one. I'm not even sure what their business is. Retail? Restaurant?

Uh oh, someone didn't read the article.

The new logo did not go over well in some spheres, and on social media, conservative critics accused the restaurant chain of abandoning its traditional values or of being “woke.”

and from the linked article that this is a follow up to:

The president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., amplified a post on Wednesday suggesting that the logo change was led by CEO Julie Felss Masino to erase the American tradition aspect of the branding and make it more general, as a way of leaning into diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

Conservative activist Robby Starbuck added his commentary on Thursday, writing in a post on X, “Good morning @CrackerBarrel! You’re about to learn that wokeness really doesn’t pay.”

Also my take. Who the fuck cares?

The title already says Conservative though.

Narrator: they did

I thought the same thing when I first saw the headlines about them losing millions over a logo change. The mind reels.

The occult community often compares sigils and corporate logos as being very much the same thing, but....DAMN. That's one hell of a spell that was cast over a whole lotta dumbfucks.

I frequent various chains, and I'm trying to think about the last time I really gave one fuck about any of their logos. I'm sure some of it works on a more subliminal and pernicious level, but have I ever sat back and really gave myself heartburn over a corporate logo? Hell to the fuck no.

Why? Because they decided not to rebrand? Sounds like you just want an excuse not to go there. You don't need one.