Rant #3,771: Old Days

As we lead up to Labor Day, Cracker Barrel has returned to its senses.

It had changed its logo to remove the drawing of a person taking it easy--named "Uncle Herschel" and based on a real human being, an uncle of the chain's founder--and people got really, really upset when they saw the new logo--

Without the man, and pretty much very corporate, and very vanilla, and very woke.

There was an incredible backlash from people across the country, believing that Cracker Barrel caved into woke pressure by removing the figure, who was white, and replacing it with a less personable logo.

The company said they changed its logo to appeal to younger customers--as they had also, within the past few years, changed their menu to include some alcoholic beverages--but people did not accept that explanation.

They saw this as another woke move, totally out of touch with reality, and they made their voices heard.

But then the company's stock dropped precipitously, and again, money talks, so within days of announcing the new logo, it was pulled, and the old logo returned as quickly as it was sent to the scrap heap.

This is what I posted on Facebook a little while after the restaurant's new chief executive officer announced the change:

"I  have been in many Cracker Barrels up and down the East Coast, and the place gets diners of every imaginable background, race and creed. 

"I know she [the CEO] wouid probably say that they were just trying to update the logo, but it just seems that, really, nobody cares about the logo to begin with, they care about what the restaurant offers to customers. 

"Over the past couple of years, they did update the menu to include a variety of alcoholic beverages.

"But honestly, no one cares about the logo, and if she changed it to make it "less white," then the next step is to colorize "The Andy Griffith Show" to make Andy, Opie and Aunt Bea black. 

"Heck, nobody watches the show because it features an all-white cast, you know.

"Truly absurd ... and I think a lot of these changes are being made by executives who are themselves inwardly racist, and this is their way of 'aplogizing' for their own personal racism and shortcomings."

Idiotic.

I don't think anyone really cared about the logo, until it was going to be "canceled."

People are completely fed up with "cancel culture," and the change forced people to focus on the logo, maybe for the first time--

And the reason why it was being put out to pasture.

But again, it would not have been dumped if the restaurant hadn't almost immediately lost money and value.

And it is important to note that Cracker Barrel's parent company is one that has heralded woke and DEI policies, and you know it looked at this chain and its history, and found it to be too old fashioned to its liking.

So, just cancel it.

In fact, in the 1990s, the company put out an internal edict that its employees should look "more heterosexual," and it actually fired a couple of employees who, I guess, didn't.

This edict was quickly rescinded, and Cracker Barrel now is looked upon very favorably by human rights groups.

You just know that its owners looked at this and were horrified, and well, they blamed poor Uncle Herschel, and he had to go.

Cracker Barrel--and its lean toward traditional values--is extremely popular, especially by those who take long drives on Interstate roads and want to take a pause from their travels.

The food is good. It is reasonably priced, and then there is its Country Store, where you can find old-style candy, records and doo-dads to fulfill any need.

And it is the only restaurant without any New York outlets where you can actually buy gift cards in New York convenience stores, as people buy them before their trips down south and to other places outside the state.

The closest Cracker Barrels to me are on long drives to southern New Jersey or into Connecticut.

I actually met the founder of the chain several years ago while eating at one of his restaurants.

I asked him why there were no New York restaurants, and he told me that the laid-back, country-style concept "didn't work" in New York--

Yet I bet traveling New Yorkers make up a significant portion of Cracker Barrel's clientele.

Maybe that is the true reason why there are none in New York--

Having none locally makes it an extra special place for New Yorkers to visit while traveling, something that New Yorkers cant get while at home.

Whatever the case, with Uncle Herschel beckoning once again, when my family and I travel, you can bet we will heed the call, and stop over to a Cracker Barrel to take a load off our feet and have a great meal at a reasonable price.

You can go back in time in 2025, even for a few moments. 

Uncle Ben, Aunt Jemima, the Land O'Lakes Indian Princess ... will they be resurrected?

If Uncle Herschel has anything to do about it, you never know.