Thoughts on Cracker Barrel’s Rebranding and Remodeling: What I Do and Don’t Like About It

For several weeks I’ve been going back and forth about certain post topics. For the most part, they don’t really matter in the big scheme of things. They also may be a little bit too (Or extremely) controversial for my blog. I prefer to keep my blog as political free as possible. Among the many reasons for this is because I use my blogs as a personal way of escapism from politics. If I’m tired of hearing about something online with political ties, I’m not going to talk about it here.

One of the post ideas I had was about Cracker Barrel’s rebranding. As many have probably heard by now, it had a major rebrand with specific stores remodeled to have more modernized interior, a different color scheme, and, most recently and controversially, a new logo. I debated if I should share my thoughts about it in a post due to the popularity and controversy relating to it. Especially since I haven’t set foot in a Cracker Barrel store in quite a while.

Now that Cracker Barrel has announced it will return to it’s old logo, I decided to risk writing a post about the rebranding and what I think about it.

If you want to know what the new interior looks like, here are some YouTube videos about the rebranding and remodeling of the stores:

• This video from WKRN New 2, an ABC affiliate station in Nashville, Tennessee shows what it looks like and what has changed. The video was published on May 31, 2024.
• This video is from NBC’s Today official YouTube channel. The video talks about the rebranding of Cracker Barrel and the changing market for restaurants. It was published August 11, 2025.
• This video is from The Matt & Goo Review!. It features the remodeled store near Walt Disney World in Florida and shows the then in-process removal of the signs with the original logo on them. The video also includes comparisons between the old layout and new as well as a food review. It was published on August 13, 2025.
• This video is from The Daily Woo. It features the Kissimmee, Florida store with the original logos. The video also includes the a tour of the area around the restaurant, what has changed around the store, a store tour, and food review. It was published on August 25, 2025.

Before I talk about what I like and don’t like about the rebrand, I wanted to mention one thing: I haven’t been to my nearest Cracker Barrel in person for quite some time. It is located about a half an hour or so (Depending on traffic) from where I live. I used to love visiting the Cracker Barrel. Even if I didn’t stop by the restaurant, I still loved shopping at the country store. Sadly, after discovering I still suffer from many allergies, including food allergies and allergies to the agriculture in the area where my closet Cracker Barrel is located, I decided to avoid shopping or eating there until I sorted out my allergies. This took much longer than I anticipated.

Also, I will not be talking about the logo controversy or anything beyond the remodeling of the interior of the store/restaurants. The remodel of the buildings is what I’m the most opinionated about, which is why I will be focusing on it instead of anything else.

As far as I know, my nearest Cracker Barrel did not receive a remodel. This is why I needed to rely on videos on social media (Such as the ones from The Matt & Goo Review! and The Daily Woo) to help me see what the new interiors look like.

To be honest, I don’t like the remodels. I’ll go into what I don’t like later in this post.

Even though I don’t like the remodels, there are a few things I do like. First, I like how much lighter the stores are. It is clearly easier to see in the stores and restaurant, which I love. I also love the style of the chairs and tables. They are what someone would associate with country style furniture. I also just like them in general. They look like they could be really comfortable. The final thing I love about the remodel is the lack of clutter on the walls. (I also need to mention that I feel conflicted about this) Sometimes the walls are so cluttered with things on display that it becomes hard to look at. Streamlining and focusing what is displayed on the walls is something I like a lot.

And now, for what I don’t like about the remodels…

I don’t mind a refreshing of the stores or a new paint scheme, but the modern paint scheme looks more like a modern farmhouse style than what I anticipated. Although I do like certain modern farmhouse styles, I don’t always like the paint scheme commonly associated with it. (Example of this is white walls and dark blue or a dark slate blue trims) This type of paint scheme doesn’t do a good job picking up any details from woodwork commonly used in more elaborate modern farmhouse homes. Seeing this type of pain scheme made me wonder about the woodwork style details in the restaurant and how clearly they can be seen in person. Sadly, this paint scheme is the reason why the stores are lighter and easier to see… which is why I feel conflicted about my dislike of the paint scheme.

I also don’t like the removals of the screens in favor for clear windows (I think that’s what replaced them?). I liked that the screens gave privacy between the sections of the restaurant. It made it feel more cozy and less intimidating during busy times. Also, I don’t like how loud the restaurant is. Restaurants are always going to be loud, but there are ways to dampen the sound of people talking. Whenever I visited a Cracker Barrel, it would always be loud with talking, music, or both. Seeing the windows in place of the screens made me think the restaurant section would be louder than before.

The final thing I don’t like about the restaurants is the lack of “clutter” on the walls. Like I mentioned, I feel conflicted about this. On the one hand, I like less items displayed on the walls. Yet, I want the focus of those items to be on the area where the store is located. In the case of my nearest Cracker Barrel, while the building was in the process of being built, representatives for Cracker Barrel went to the city’s Chamber of Commerce and searched through it’s records to find photographs to use on it’s walls. There are copies of these photographs on it’s walls to this day.

For me, this personal touch and focus on the area endeared it to me. Even though the city the Cracker Barrel is located in isn’t my home town or my home in any way, shape, or form made me want to visit it. It may be a chain restaurant, but it also is unquestionably unique because of the presence of these photographs.

When I heard Cracker Barrel was doing to display less things on their walls, I became worried. Does this mean they will remove some of these photographs and unique memorabilia from the area where the restaurant is located in? Will they focus more on kitschy wall art (Such as antique ads for Southeastern products, stores, services, ect.) instead of focusing on gathering more memorabilia for the area to make the stores more unique?

To be honest, I don’t know. Like I said before, I only have the videos I find online and I can’t tell if my worries are valid or not. Yet, it is something that endeared the brand to me and made me want to visit the other restaurants. (Maybe I’m in a minority of Cracker Barrel visitors now?)

 

After watching the most recent drama connected to Cracker Barrel’s rebrand, I feel conflicted about it. On the one hand, it’s just a restaurant trying to improve it’s ability to attract customers. On the other, I don’t like the direction it is heading towards. On the surface, the style of the rebranding is contradictory not of it’s original style. It is a country theme. Just a modern version of country interior design. Yet, after years of the modern farmhouse theme of homes, decor, and buildings, to me it doesn’t seem that original. It is too similar to the modern farmhouse trend. And when I mean trend, I mean trend.

Cracker Barrel’s style is so recognizable. It stands out against other restaurants with themes. Does it need an update? Maybe. I think certain stores need to be updated to reflect the area and how it has changed since that area’s restaurant opened. The problem is developing a new style of theming that is more modern, but not trendy. The remodeled stores look a little too trendy, and that bothers me. It will look outdated sooner than later, especially when the modern farmhouse trend’s popularity starts to finally fade away and become like the midcentury modern, arts and crafts, and Mediterranean architectural styles. This means Cracker Barrel will need to redo their interiors again to look modern again instead of an outdated trend. At least with the old way they used to look like they already looked “outdated”, but the same way a store built in the 1800’s to early 1900’s would be.

For me, it is frustrating to see such a brand change in such a way. Will I go there to eat food and shop even if my nearest Cracker Barrel gets a remodel? Probably. Like I said before, I need to watch my allergies. Yet, if I feel comfortable traveling there, I will. I’ll be sad to see it change so much, but at least I will get to see if I like the changes in person instead of online. Then I could make a definitive decision if I like the remodel or not.

 

That’s all for now! Thank you for reading!