For the second time in less than six months, Cracker Barrel has upset its fan base with a controversial change to a longstanding tradition.
Back in August, the Tennessee-based chain announced “All the More,” a new campaign that brought changes to its logo and menu. The trademark logo — featuring a man seated beside a wooden barrel — was scrapped in favor of a more minimalist design. However, the company quickly reversed course and brought the original logo back.
Although Cracker Barrel hasn’t changed its logo again, the chain did make another menu-related decision that sparked backlash. Cracker Barrel has historically offered black-eyed peas as a New Year’s Day special, as the dish is associated with good luck in the South. That tradition appears to have ended this year, as the chain confirmed it would not be offering any special New Year’s menu items.
“We’re operating during our usual hours and serving our standard menu on New Year’s,” Cracker Barrel told Fox News Digital.
After escaping 2025 on the other side of logo change backlash, Cracker Barrel began ’26 by reportedly abandoning a generational staple for southern patrons: black-eyed peas. pic.twitter.com/gSnvASL3tc
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) January 3, 2026
Social media responded swiftly, with many X users expressing outrage and some calling on the company to part ways with CEO Julie Felss Masino. Others questioned whether Cracker Barrel understands its core customer base and why the chain has remained popular, particularly in the South.
“For some reason, Cracker Barrel’s brass are too dense to realize all they need to do to keep the business going is exactly what they’ve done for decades: stay the course,” OutKick’s Matt Reigle wrote. “Do that and people will continue to love them and make Cracker Barrel their de facto road trip bathroom stop.
“But nope,” Reigle continued. “For some reason, they still think that what people want out of a place known for wall décor that looks like it could give you tetanus and a store full of Depression-era toys is change.”
Other X users accused Cracker Barrel of being “woke” following the latest decision. Even Steak ’n Shake joined in on the criticism.
“Never in the history of the restaurant industry has so much value been destroyed by a management who cared more about DEI than their own customers,” Steak ’n Shake’s official X account wrote.
Fire the CEO?
Never in the history of the restaurant industry has so much value been destroyed by a management who cared more about DEI than their own customers. https://t.co/EL6WCoMJDP
— Steak ‘n Shake (@SteaknShake) January 2, 2026
It remains unclear whether Cracker Barrel plans to implement additional major changes in 2026. However, the intense backlash to some of the company’s recent decisions — most notably the briefly revamped logo — could pressure leadership to do what Reigle suggested and “stay the course.”
“They can’t run me off after running me off, so I’m a little bit ambivalent, but for the remaining people, this would’ve pissed me off,” one X user wrote. “It was clearly made with a big middle finger to people in the South for whom this is a tradition.”
Cracker Barrel opened its first location in Lebanon, Tennessee, in September 1969. The company estimated its total revenue for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 at $868 million, a 2.9% decrease from the year prior. However, Cracker Barrel said its current-year revenue increased by 4.4%.
