Biglari’s latest campaign is part of a 14-year entanglement with Cracker Barrel in which he has repeatedly failed to get himself elected as a director. He has, however, managed to elect two candidates of his choosing (in 2022 and 2024), while fighting against his proxy battles has cost Cracker Barrel millions. Even this was cause for criticism from Biglari: “The Board has spent $31 million of shareholders’ money to prevent one of its largest shareholders [Biglari] from having a minority voice. Now the Company has become a laughingstock.”

For many years, Biglari was one of the company’s largest shareholders, at one point owning nearly 20% of Cracker Barrel’s shares. He has since sold off much of his stake, and disclosed ownership of a 2.9% stake in the proxy filing. 

The restaurant chain’s fourth quarter earnings disclosed a miss on earnings per share, falling short on earnings per share while beating on revenue and projecting weaker customer traffic in the year ahead.

Cracker Barrel’s stock fell approximately 10% in after hours trading and was down more than 8% at time of publication. 

Biglari, who is also the CEO of Biglari Holdings, which also controls Maxim magazine, isn’t going away. On Thursday, he urged shareholders to vote against the board’s directors, whom he accused of “severe destruction of shareholder value,” an inability to understand Cracker Barrel’s brand, and a failure to select a suitable CEO. 

“Instead of demonstrating the discipline and stewardship required to protect and enhance a storied brand, management has relied on ill-conceived strategies that have worsened existing challenges rather than solved them, culminating in the disastrous “brand refresh” that has ranked among this century’s worst brand blunders alongside Bud Light and Jaguar,” he wrote. “CEO Julie Masino’s tenure has been marked by repeated and highly publicized missteps, from misguided rebranding efforts to ill-fated “transformation” initiatives, that reflect the Company’s troubling pattern of tone-deafness and disregard for shareholder capital.” 

Biglari also took aim at the Cracker Barrel board’s marketing expert, Gilbert Dávila, whom he accused of being responsible for the chain’s struggles, and “eroding shareholder value” by approving “outsized pay packages” for Cracker Barrel executives. 

“Shareholders can send a message that merit and performance, the foundation that built America, rank above DEI,” he continued. 

Cracker Barrel has dismissed Biglari’s antics, previously telling Fortune that the activist investor has made “numerous false and misleading claims about Cracker Barrel, its Board and management.” Shareholders have rejected nearly all of his proposals.

In June, The Wall Street Journal reported that many Cracker Barrel customers were mourning the “loss of that old-timey feeling,” and the uproar escalated in August after a particular tweet by Donald Trump Jr., highlighting allegations that the rebrand was “woke.” The market reaction alone wiped out roughly $100 million from the chain’s value. At issue was, in part, the new logo that did away with the traditional “Uncle Herschel” mascot—a denim-clad old man perched on a chair beside a barrel. 

The redesign, which was a key part of Cracker Barrel’s $700 million modernization campaign—and was intended to reverse an outflow of customers from the chain, performance that Biglari has criticized for years—immediately ignited controversy, drawing outrage from longtime diners, Biglari, and even President Trump. Biglari used his restaurant’s social media accounts to troll Cracker Barrel over the blunder. 

Cracker Barrel quickly reversed course, ditching the rebranding and suspending its planned restaurant renovations. The company’s stock is down roughly 17% year-to-date. 

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Cracker Barrel has been a staple for road trippers and comfort food fans for decades, but lately the chain has been making headlines for reasons beyond its biscuits and gravy.

Earlier this summer, the company rolled out a surprise rebrand with a new logo and updated menu.

The shift didn’t sit well with its most loyal customers. Many criticized the branding change online, saying it stripped away part of what made the restaurant feel homey.

CNBC reported that Cracker Barrel even had to issue an apology, reassuring guests that fan-favorite menu items like Uncle Herschel’s Breakfast weren’t going anywhere. Still, the old “country store” tagline was gone for good, and longtime fans felt the chain was moving away from its roots.

The backlash went beyond social media, too. Some servers reported customers withholding tips on the day of the rebrand, claiming they were upset with the company’s decision.

But even if the logo and menu are changing, diners still expect their meals to show up the same way they always have: warm, comforting, and reliable. And according to one TikTok creator, that isn’t always the case.

Strange discovery in a Cracker Barrel hash brown casserole

TikTok user @inktations_, who goes by Savvy, shared a video of a recent visit that left her confused. Her post has been viewed more than 57,400 times.

In the clip, she cuts into a hash brown casserole. She pulls out what looks like a plastic or paper-like sheet layered across the top. “Maybe don’t order the hash brown casserole from Cracker Barrel,” she wrote in the video’s text overlay.

She explained in the caption that her server did the right thing and comped the meal. However, the experience still had her asking: “Whatttt is thissss?”

What could it have been?

Viewers were quick to speculate in the comments. Some thought it was packaging material left behind from portioning.

“Look like plastic packaging, they might have it portioned out,” one person suggested.

Others pointed to how the food might be prepared.

“They are microwaving all of the food, instead of the fresh they used to have, the cat is out of the bag, ask any employee,” a commenter wrote.

Another chimed in more lightheartedly: “I’m that person still eating the fried okra in the back.”

“It is parchment paper! It is used to separate the sides when they are portioned,” a fourth writes, offering a different explanation. “Definitely not supposed to be in there when it’s served tho.” 

@inkantations_ they did comp that plate but still like whatttt is thissss #crackerbarrel #ew #food #whatisthat #restaurant ♬ eww brother what is that – z’m

The Mary Sue has reached out to Savvy and Crackel Barrel for more information. 

Have a tip we should know? [email protected]

Cracker Barrel—one of the most iconic restaurant chains in America, deeply rooted in Southern food and hospitality—this week revealed a new look. 

A tweak to the logo removes the man sitting on a chair and leaning on a barrel, and the font appears to have slightly changed. 

And some people are absolutely outraged, with many going as far to say its new, simplified logo is a signal of Cracker Barrel going woke. 

“Cracker Barrel didn’t just lose its logo. It lost its soul,” wrote an X user called @DesireeAmerica4, whose bio section reads: “Unapologetically America First. Igniting debate. Standing tall for the everyday American.”

“This isn’t modernization. It’s extermination of Americana, of warmth, of memory,” she continued. “Congratulations, Cracker Barrel. You’re now Woke Barrel. Nobody asked for this.”

Cracker Barrel lost nearly $100 million in value in trading on Thursday. The stock slightly rebounded Friday, up about 0.25% in the late afternoon.

Cracker Barrel didn’t immediately respond to Fortune’s request for comment. 

The new logo is all part of CEO Julie Felss Masino’s turnaround plan for the restaurant. She said last year the chain wasn’t “as relevant as we once were,” and announced plans to update its menu and eateries. The new logo is “now rooted even more closely to the iconic barrel shape and word mark that started it all,” according to the company. 

“On the surface, it’s a modest refresh. But when a brand is built on tradition, even a small design change can feel like a cultural shift,” Evan Nierman, founder and CEO at crisis communications firm Red Banyan, told Fortune. “It touched a nerve because it challenged what some customers felt was sacred about Cracker Barrel.”

Is the Cracker Barrel rebrand really that big of a deal?

Cracker Barrel’s rebrand has really struck a chord with some people, particularly those who subscribe to a MAGA-leaning lifestyle. They argue it rids the brand of its deep Southern heritage and that the brand has become too sterile. 

One TikTok user satirically said in regards to the new Cracker Barrel logo: “I don’t want this woke crap. What DEI hire made this logo?”

Steak N’ Shake even chimed in on the logo change and reshared the X post from @DesireeAmerica4 with a comment in a style mimicking President Donald Trump’s Truth Social posts: “Fire the CEO! Thank you for your attention to this matter!” 

While Cracker Barrel “took a stab at modernizing and showing cultural relevance,” Mary Delano, chief marketing officer at ad agency Moosylvania, told Fortune, it lost its old-fashioned identity. 

“This could potentially offend the restaurant’s core fans, who see the chain’s rocking chairs, comfort food and nostalgia as the elements that make Cracker Barrel feel like that home away from home,” said Delano, who’s helped bring iconic brands like Pink Whitney to market.

Although the new logo was “more of a tweak than a total overhaul,” said Tenyse Williams, digital marketing adjunct instructor at George Washington University and the University of Central Florida, it feels bigger because of the political climate we’re in.

“Cracker Barrel is nostalgia for many, especially customers in the South and Midwest who feel ownership and pride over the brand,” Williams told Fortune. “For a brand that hasn’t changed its logo since 1977, even small changes to a symbol so tied to Americana can feel magnified.”

Nierman argued, however, Cracker Barrel’s new logo doesn’t erase its legacy. Rather it softens its image. 

“Cracker Barrel has long leaned into a version of Americana that felt frozen in time,” he said. “This update suggests the brand is finally acknowledging that the world around it is changing, and it wants to be part of that future.”

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