Cracker Barrel Faces Executive and Bylaw Shakeup After Rebrand Backlash

By Taylor Kase 

Cracker Barrel’s fourth quarter revenue fell 2.9% after a controversial brand overhaul, resulting in marketing executive Gilbert Davila’s resignation and corporate bylaws revision after last week's shareholder meeting.

The company faced public backlash after CEO Julie Masino announced a brand makeover to address what she described as declining relevance, with renovation efforts that began last year. The market responded sharply to the decision to change the logo, contributing to an overnight stock drop of nearly 15% and wiping out roughly $100 million in market value.

Other proposed renovations included menu changes and store remodels. The revamp was expected to cost $600-700 million but has since been halted. After the logo change, customers took to social media to express their displeasure. The company issued a public apology and posted a TikTok video showing workers taking down the new decorations and changing the logo back.

Photo Credit: Cracker Barrel 

Davila and Masino’s positions in the company were challenged by activist investor Sardar Biglari who owns roughly 3% of Cracker Barrel shares and urged shareholders to vote against their re-election. Biglari said the pair cost the company over $1 billion in shareholder value with the failed brand overhaul.

A spokesperson for the company said that Biglari was making false and misleading claims to disrupt the business for his own ends. Biglari is the CEO of Steak ‘n Shake, one of Cracker Barrel’s competitors.

Shareholders voted around 75% in favor of keeping Masino and 60% against Davila during the meeting on Friday. Davila issued a resignation letter as a result of the vote. This comes as a win for Biglari and a loss for Cracker Barrel, who lobbied to keep Davila on.

Davila had previously served as marketing executive for Coca-Cola and Disney before joining Cracker Barrel. Masino was previously the President for Taco Bell and Sprinkles Cupcakes and was Chief Marketing Officer at Starbucks China.

Julie Masino/Cracker Barrel

Shareholders also approved a change to the bylaws that would block proxy campaigns promoting nominees that fail to receive substantial shareholder support. This comes after a statement by the company that these campaigns cost millions to defend against and abuse the proxy system.

Despite the company’s challenging year, total sales for 2025 were up 2.2% when adjusted for the extra week in 2024. Restaurant sales increased a little over 1% and the company opened two new stores this year.

The company is forecasting 2026 to be a defensive year, according to its earnings report. Foot traffic is expected to decline by 4-7%, which will put downward pressure on retail sales. However, the company projects a revenue increase of nearly 3% for the year.

Cracker Barrel stock has dropped about 5% since Friday’s shareholder meeting.

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