Cracker Barrel co-founder, 93, slams rebranding disaster: ‘Throwing money out the window’

Tommy Lowe, who founded Cracker Barrel with his late friend Dan Evins, says the chain’s modern logo remodel is ‘pitiful’

Tommy Lowe, the 93-year-old co-founder of Cracker Barrel, slammed the restaurant chain’s executives Thursday, saying they learned an expensive “I told you so” lesson after abandoning their modernized logo following MAGA backlash.

Lowe told WTVF that he and his friend, the late Dan Evins, were the driving forces behind the first Cracker Barrel, which opened in Tennessee in 1969. With the help of 10 others, they raised $10,000 to get the restaurant’s kitchen up and running.

“So back then, Cracker Barrel wasn't a sure bet?” the outlet’s Carrie Sharp asked Lowe.

“Oh, it wasn't a bet at all!" Lowe said. “It was just a country store for country people, and that’s what it is today, they just don’t understand.”

Lowe was referring to Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Felss Masino, who led the chain’s $700 million modernization initiative, including a simplified logo that removed the iconic “barrel” and Uncle Herschel. He dismissed the redesign as “pitiful,” saying Masino’s fast-food background left her disconnected from the heart of Cracker Barrel’s identity.

Tommy Lowe, co-founder of the first Cracker Barrel, said the restaurant "doesn’t have any competition" (Getty Images)

“They’re trying to modernize to be like the competition — Cracker Barrel doesn’t have any competition,” Lowe told the outlet. “I heard she was at Taco Bell. What’s Taco Bell know about Cracker Barrel and country food? They need to work on the food and service, and leave the barrel — the logo alone.”

Lowe added, “Spending $700 million doing that is throwing money out the window.”

Masino was named Cracker Barrel’s President and CEO in July 2023. After taking the role, she began updating the menu, interior design, and pricing. While these early changes largely went unnoticed by customers, her most recent move quickly drew national attention, prompting executives to side with consumers and reinstate the “Old Timer” logo.

“We thank our guests for sharing your voices and love for Cracker Barrel,” the company said in a statement. “We said we would listen, and we have. Our new logo is going away, and our ‘old timer’ will remain.”

Lowe, who served as Cracker Barrel’s Vice President of Operations and spent decades on its board of directors, said he has never met Masino and doesn’t believe she even knows who he is.

Lowe remembered a “Grand Ole Opry” performer named String Bean, who warned the founders in its early days to “keep it country.” He’s now sending the same warning to Cracker Barrel’s current leadership: ignore it, and the business could stumble.

“If they don’t get back to keeping it country, then it ain’t gonna work,” Lowe said.

There are currently 657 Cracker Barrel locations across 43 states.