Cracker Barrel's logo draws heat, 'woke' allegations from conservatives

now with big changes at a restaurant chain that is an American staple. Cracker Barrel is renovating

its locations, but many loyal customers say the change is removing what makes the restaurant such

a great dining experience and taking to social media to voice their complaints. Well, join us

now exclusively to talk about this is the CEO of Cracker Barrel, Julie Massino. Julie, thank you so

much for joining us here on GMA. I want you to tell us about the redesign of Cracker Barrel and

and some of your response to the criticism. Yeah, well, first of all, thank you so much for having me

It's great to be here. And if I can, I want to give a quick shout out to the 70,000 team members

who bring their Cracker Barrel brand to life for our guests every single day. So to the remodels

I think what's important is that we are listening to our guests. We're doing this all for them

What they've said is they love the new seating. We're adding in booths, making the chairs more comfortable

putting in new lighting, brightening up the paint color. But what's important is things that people love about Cracker Barrel

the soul of Cracker Barrel is not changing. The rocking chairs are still there. The fireplace is there

The peg game, all the things that make Cracker Barrel Cracker Barrel, the vintage decor, it's still there and it's working

The results affirm that we headed in the right direction And this is part of a multi transformation of the chain What else can the customer expect to change Yeah well remember the heart and soul of Cracker Barrel is going to stay the same

And so today we're actually launching a new campaign called All The More, which really highlights how people feel about Cracker Barrel

It's bigger than just a meal. We've got a retail shop. You're going to get great country hospitality with our scratch-made food and our restaurants

And that's really what this campaign celebrates. So we've enlisted a little bit of help from a guy named Jordan Davis

Maybe you've heard of him. He's got a new single and album out, and he's in our ad and is the voice of it as well

And it really, again, just highlights those things that make Cracker Barrel Cracker Barrel. Is the food changing

The food. Well, here's what I'll say about that. Innovation has proven to be really great at Cracker Barrel

People are loving our new menu items. We're reinvigorating our dinner menu. We've got a new herb roasted chicken that is so delicious that launches today

It's like the chicken you would make, Michael, if you were at home making a chicken. and juicy, crisp skin, a nice little sauce that comes with it

But we're also doing some things that our guests love, like bringing back Uncle Herschel's favorite

It's back today in all of our restaurants. So the things that you love at Cracker Barrel

are still going to be there. And a lot of these, a lot of restaurants are leaning and going back to nostalgia

things that the customers are really comfortable with We never left it Yeah you never left it but you changing up You kind of going a different direction Why is that your strategy Yeah because people Cracker Barrel needs to feel like the Cracker Barrel for today and for tomorrow

And again, the things that you love are still there. We need people to choose us, and we want people to choose us because people love this brand

They've loved it. Everybody's got a story, right? Did you go to Cracker Barrel on the way to your grandma's when you were playing, traveling soccer

or whatever those things are? Our job is to make Cracker Barrel a place that they want to be today and tomorrow

You said everybody has their story, and I can see Robin right there. She's shaking her head like, yeah, I have mine

Robin just told me her story. She's a big Cracker Barrel fan, and we're grateful for it

But it's more than a restaurant, though. You sell furniture. You sell apparel. You sell food, of course

You even sell batting. How have tariffs affected the prices, and have you felt the effect of the prices

Yeah, look, we think about the business really in kind of two ways. So the restaurant side, all of those goods, for the most part, are sourced here domestically

That's our food and everything that we're preparing in the restaurant side. The retail side, we get a lot of those goods

from all over the world. So we have been really looking at the tariff side there. We're doing everything we can to mitigate the impact

Because Cracker Barrels, we are an abundant value. When you think about what happens in the restaurant side

our average check is about versus the industry at So it an amazing value Great scratch cooked food abundant portions A lot of people take leftovers home with them

Our job is to maintain that great value and the great delicious food and the country hospitality we're known for

And we're working hard on that. All right, I got to ask this question. I think I probably know the answer. What if all the customers are coming at you hard enough

about the look of the restaurants and they want to go back to the old way? Would you do it

Honestly, the feedback's been overwhelmingly positive. that people like what we're doing

I'll give you another soundbite. I actually happened to be in Orlando last week with all of our managers

We bring them together once every other year. And the number one question that I got asked, Michael

was how can I get a remodel? When can I get a remodel? How do I get on the list

Oh, really? So because the feedback and the buzz is so good, not only from our customers, but from our team members

They want to work in a wonderful restaurant. So we're doing everything for our guests and our team members

Well, Julie Messino, it's wonderful to have you here. Pleasure to be here. Thank you for answering those questions for all the Cracker Barrel fans out there

A lot of great changes. Thank you so much. All right. Thank you. Robin

Can I get in writing that the peg game is going to stay? The peg game is staying

So are the rocking chairs, fireplace, vintage decor. It's all there. All right

Okay. Because that would be a deal breaker