Sad! Not good!
Yes, this really happened. CEO Julie Felss Masino says Cracker Barrel, the beloved restaurant that draws people for its old-world charm, says it isn't relevant and needs to change with the times.
To fix the problem, she suggests charging more, changing decor, and offering "green chili cornbread."
None of this will actually help the restaurant (her statement actually hurt their stock). But in a world where brands are treated as IP-mining operations (see: Disney), girlbosses think they can tweak the input/outputs and get the pleebs to come spend cash.
But that's not why people go to Cracker Barrel (or anywhere, for that matter).
Before we get to the fix, let's look at how bad the problem is:
Celebrating Pride Month and calling your own brand irrelevant was pretty dumb, eh?
Sean Davis, co-founder of The Federalist, has thoughts:
I grew up going to Cracker Barrel on road trips. After my parents had spent hours navigating traffic and construction in the pre-GPS world, the restaurant was an oasis for us. My parents would get a moment to rest while my brother and I played checkers by the roaring fire. The food was hearty, and the decor reminded you of the people who built America. The store was full of fun finds. The rocking chairs outside were the most comfortable in the world.
As a father, I now share this tradition with my kids. Cracker Barrel is one of the few places that I know will be family friendly, right off the highway, and big enough to let my kids stretch their legs after hours on the road. All of that means something.
Which is why I nominate this random gentleman from the internet to be the new CEO:
It's amazing to me that the average person understands what all the fancy suits can't.
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