From gas stations to a controversial logo change: The history of Cracker Barrel in photos

Cracker Barrel is in hot water for its new logo. Read the full history of the restaurant and general store chain.Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesCracker Barrel's new logo swaps the overall-wearing man for simple text. It caused a social media uproar.The restaurant chain has faced other controversies in its 56-year history.Read the full history of Cracker Barrel, from its origins as a roadside stop to its post-COVID slump.For decades, Cracker Barrel's logo included an overall-clad man with his arm on one of the namesake barrels. This year, the restaurant chain decided to change it.Following the change, social media users revolted, and the company's stock price dropped.It's not the company's first controversy. Founded decades ago as a roadside stop for sit-down meals, the restaurant and general store chain has endured protests, discrimination lawsuits, and trademark infringement claims.Here is Cracker Barrel's history, from its gas station origins to its post-COVID relevance crisis and recent rebrand.Dan Evins founded Cracker Barrel as a roadside stop in 1969.Cracker Barrel was named after the containers used to ship soda crackers to general stores. Customers would flip them to play checkers.Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty ImagesDan Evins' family was in the gasoline business. The American highway system was still young, meaning food on the road was difficult to come by."What Evins had in mind was the kind of place he'd been to hundreds of times as a boy," the company's site reads. "Evins figured maybe folks traveling on the big, new interstate system might appreciate a clean, comfortable, relaxed place to stop in for a good meal and some shopping."Evins opened the first Cracker Barrel location in 1969 on Highway 109 in Lebanon, TN.The name "Cracker Barrel" dates back to the country stores that Evins modeled his restaurant chain after. These stores would receive large shipments of soda crackers stored in barrels to prevent cracking. After the barrels were emptied, customers would use them as makeshift tables for checkers.These barrels became symbols of camaraderie — and the brand's namesake.Country stores have always been an inspiration for Cracker Barrel restaurants.The Cracker Barrel gift shop dates back to the restaurant's first location.Jeffrey Greenberg/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty ImagesWhen Evins opened his first restaurant, he invited local antique store owners Don and Kathleen Singleton to curate the chain's general stores. The couple eventually joined as full-time designers.In 1979, Kathleen retired after an illness, and her son Larry began to learn the trade from his father. Larry began stocking the brand's 19 locations, visiting flea markets and auctions across the country.For 39 years, Larry served as Cracker Barrel's chief picker. He retired in 2019.Cracker Barrels stopped carrying gas after the 1970s OPEC oil embargo.TKJames Pozarik/LiaisonAfter the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) instituted a total ban on exporting oil to countries that had supported Israel. Gasoline in the United States became scarce, and prices skyrocketed.Thanks to his family's business, Evins' first handful of Cracker Barrels had gasoline pumps on-site. After the OPEC embargo, Evins' new restaurants stopped carrying gasoline.By 1977, Evins had built 13 Cracker Barrels from Tennessee to Georgia.In 1981, Cracker Barrel Old Country Stores went public on the stock market.Cracker Barrel went public in 1981. Within TK years, it was valued at $1 billion.Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesCracker Barrel Old Country Stores went public in November 1981 as part of a plan to expand beyond the American Southeast. On the day of its public offering, CRBL offered slightly over 600,000 shares at $10.00 per share.Within five years, the company had doubled its store count to 47 and hit net annual sales of $81 million. By 1992, the company was valued at $1 billion.Cracker Barrel said it would stop employing those without "normal heterosexual values" in 1991, sparking protests.Protesters demanded that Cracker Barrel stop TK against TK.Jim West/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty ImagesOn February 21, 1991, Cracker Barrel's vice president of human resources William A. Bridges sent out a message: They would stop employing individuals "whose sexual preferences fail to demonstrate normal heterosexual values which have been the foundation of families in our society."Multiple workers were fired in this period, before Cracker Barrel walked back the policy, saying that it would "continue to employ those folks who will provide the quality service our customers have come to expect from us."Activists said that the statement was not a retraction of the policy, and that Cracker Barrel had not rehired fired employees. The Los Angeles Times reported that Evins was also quoted in a Tennessee newspaper saying that Cracker Barrel would not hire homosexuals in rural communities.Gay and lesbian activists protested and picketed Cracker Barrel. They also bought up stock, trying to financially pressure the restaurant chain.In 2002, Cracker Barrel changed its nondiscrimination policy to include sexual orientation.Cracker Barrel tested a stand-alone gift shop before refocusing in the late 1990s.Cracker Barrel briefly tried to turn its gift shops as stand-alone stores.: Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty ImagesIn the mid-1990s, Cracker Barrel tried to move off the roadside and into the suburbs. It launched Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Corner Market, a chain of gift shops without attached restaurants. Cracker Barrel also briefly expressed an interest in building hotels.By 1997, the stores were shut down, and Cracker Barrel refocused on its dining and hospitality business. "At Cracker Barrel, we're serving country food, country music, and we've got an old country store," Ron Magruder, then-president of Cracker Barrel, told the Orlando Sentinel.By 2000, there were 423 Cracker Barrel locations.Kraft sued Cracker Barrel in 2013 for trademark infringementTK LAWSUIT.AP Photo/Pat WellenbachIn November 2012, Cracker Barrel signed a licensing agreement with John Morrell Food Group to sell branded products in grocery stores. But Kraft already had a line of unaffiliated Cracker Barrel cheese products. The company sued Cracker Barrel for trademark infringement.In 2013, Cracker Barrel agreed to sell its products under a different name: CB Old Country Store.Employees and customers sued Cracker Barrel over racial discrimination in 1999 and 2001.Cracker Barrel faced three suits from employees, customers, and the Justice Department over racial discrimination.Tim Boyle/Getty ImagesIn 1999, thirteen current and former Cracker Barrel employees sued the company for racial discrimination. They later petitioned to turn the case into a class action suit, which was denied.In 2001, 21 Black customers sued Cracker Barrel, accusing the company of widespread racism, from denying service to segregating their smoking section. Cracker Barrel's then-president Donald Turner said that the accusations were false. "We believe in good service -- and good service is colorblind," he said.Both lawsuits were settled by Cracker Barrel in 2004.That same year, the Justice Department sued Cracker Barrel for discriminating against Black customers. The company settled, signing a five-year agreement to implement nondiscrimination policies, create new training programs, and retain an outside investigator to ensure compliance.Cracker Barrel struggled coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic.Cracker Barrel TK in the pandemic.Cracker BarrelCracker Barrel made multiple attempts to court customers back after the COVID-19 pandemic, including adding alcohol to the menu. The company also bolstered its takeout and catering business.But some customers weren't coming back. Between 2020 and 2024, Cracker Barrel lost 16% of its diners. "We're just not as relevant as we once were," CEO Julie Masino said on an investor call.In 2024, Business Insider spoke with longtime patrons of the restaurant. They said food quality had declined.Cracker Barrel launched a controversial new logo in 2025.Cracker Barrel changed its logo in 2025, causing controversy.Cracker BarrelOn Tuesday, Cracker Barrel debuted a new logo as part of its fall marketing plan.The logo drew criticism from social media users. "I'm all for minimalism, but this is too much," one user said. On X, Donald Trump Jr posted, "WTF is wrong with Cracker Barrel?"Shares of Cracker Barrel were trading down 12% on Thursday afternoon.Read the original article on Business Insider

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