In a Monday press release, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. announced its Board of Directors has selected David Deno to succeed Masino beginning Aug.10. He comes to Cracker Barrell after five years at Bloomin’ Brands, most famous for the Australia-themed Outback Steakhouse chain.
After taking over at Cracker Barrel in 2023, Masino convinced the Board of Directors to invest in a $700 million overhaul to modernize the iconic restaurant chain. Known for its convenient locations that draw in weary travelers, the Tennessee-based restaurant chain offers customers country cooking and a rustic style, including antiques on the walls, a country store, and rocking chairs on the long front porch.
Pointing to a double-digit drop in sales, Masino's modernization plan included updating the menu; tossing out the wall-mounted antiques; and updating the restaurant logo by dropping the image of the old man in overalls, known as Uncle Herschel, and his barrel.
Will Hild, executive director of Consumers' Research, complained to American Family News about Masino’s plans last year, when the restaurant chain dropped the new logo after public backlash.
"She never should have gotten the job in the first place," Hild, after learning Masino was stepping down, told AFN on Monday.
Hild complained last summer, during the logo controversy, that Masino was attempting to rebrand the country restaurant chain with a "milquetoast, minimalist, homogeneous” appearance and style. He tied that rejection of its country décor, and even its country-cooking menu, to the left-wing “wokeness” that had infected major corporations, such as Bud Light, Target, Tractor Supply, and Walmart.
Any corporation today that is accused of “wokeness” now draws an army of conservatives and a social-media campaign, and Masino was indeed dogged by accusations she was destroying Cracker Barrel’s rustic style because of liberal politics.
Meanwhile, the corporation’s Board of Directors watched its stock that was trading at $92 in 2023 plummet to $45 a share in May 2024, when she announced the $700 million renovation plans.
On Monday, Cracker Barrel stock was trading at $52.43 a share when shareholder learned a new CEO is arriving in August.
