By DEE-ANN DURBIN
Cracker Barrel posted lower-than-expected sales in its fiscal first quarter and trimmed its revenue forecast for the year as it continued to feel the fallout from a botched plan to revamp its logo and restaurants.
The Lebanon, Tennessee-based restaurant chain said Tuesday its revenue fell 5.7% to $797.2 million in the three months ending Oct. 31. That was lower than the $800 million Wall Street anticipated, according to analysts polled by FactSet.
Cracker Barrel said its same-store restaurant sales dropped 4.7% while sales in its retail shops dropped 8.5%. Those declines were also slightly higher than analysts forecast.
Cracker Barrel said it now expects total revenue of $3.2 billion to $3.3 billion in its 2026 fiscal year. That’s down from $3.35 billion to $3.45 billion previously. The company also said it expects adjusted pre-tax earnings of $70 million to $110 million, down from $150 million to $190 million previously.
Cracker Barrel shares fell more than 10% in after-hours trading Tuesday.
Cracker Barrel announced in August that it was simplifying the chain’s logo as part of a larger plan to modernize the chain’s dark, antique-filled restaurants.
But the move had disastrous consequences. Fans didn’t like that the new logo didn’t include Cracker Barrel’s longtime mascot, an overall-clad man leaning on a barrel, or the words “Old Country Store.” They also rebelled against the store redesigns.
Cracker Barrel backtracked a week later, saying it would keep the logo. In September, the company also suspended its plans to remodel stores. The chain operates around 650 restaurants nationwide, with many in Texas, Florida and Tennessee.
Cracker Barrel shareholders voted late last month to keep company CEO Julie Felss Masino in place despite the logo debacle.
But one of the company’s directors, Gilbert Davila, resigned from Cracker Barrel’s board Thursday after preliminary results indicated that shareholders rejected his reelection. Davila, who joined Cracker Barrel’s board in 2020, is the president and CEO of DMI Consulting, a multicultural marketing firm. He reviewed Cracker Barrel’s advertising as part of his role on the board.
