{"id":2484060,"date":"2025-09-09T10:32:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-09T14:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cracker-barrel-hit-with-new-scandal-as-company-leaders-ordered-sub-standard-food-served-to-customers-according-to-employees\/"},"modified":"2025-09-09T10:36:42","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T14:36:42","slug":"cracker-barrel-hit-with-new-scandal-as-company-leaders-ordered-sub-standard-food-served-to-customers-according-to-employees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cracker-barrel-hit-with-new-scandal-as-company-leaders-ordered-sub-standard-food-served-to-customers-according-to-employees\/","title":{"rendered":"Cracker Barrel Hit with New Scandal as Company Leaders Ordered Sub-Standard Food Served to Customers, According to Employees"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">36<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcracker-barrel-hit-with-new-scandal-as-company-leaders-ordered-sub-standard-food-served-to-customers-according-to-employees%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2484060&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/report-usps-monitoring-americans-social-media-posts\/\" title=\"...: USPS monitoring Americans\u2019 social media posts\">recent report reveals<\/a> that Cracker Barrel&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lawsuit-alec-baldwin-had-no-reason-to-fire-gun-during-scene-being-rehearsed\/\" title=\"Lawsuit: Alec Baldwin Had No Reason to Fire Gun During Scene Being Rehearsed\">cost-cutting measures<\/a> under new CEO Julie felss masino led to a decline in food quality before the chain&#8217;s controversial logo change. To <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >save money amid labor shortages<\/a>, the company began serving day-old, frozen, then reheated biscuits and meatloaf, which many employees and customers criticized as hard and unappetizing- a stark contrast to the chain&#8217;s conventional freshly baked offerings.These changes,starting in 2023,were part of broader efforts to cut prep cooks and reduce staff hours. Despite spending heavily on rebranding and remodeling, including an unpopular new logo that was soon scrapped following public backlash, critics argue the company sacrificed its Southern charm and food quality for short-term savings. Some suggest cracker Barrel needs to refocus on its core strengths and possibly replace top management to recover its brand reputation and customer loyalty.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_0)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>In case you needed more reminding that the Cracker Barrel brouhaha isn&rsquo;t just about a logo, a new report about the cost-cutting culture inside the embattled casual eating giant shows how willing they were to sacrifice the brand&rsquo;s identity for a few bucks.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/09\/08\/business\/cracker-barrel-cost-cutters-ordered-chain-to-serve-day-old-biscuits-meatloaf-before-logo-fiasco-employees\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">New York Post<\/a> reported Monday that before the now-abandoned logo change last month, &ldquo;corporate bean counters this year quietly forced the chain to serve up day-old biscuits and microwaved meatloaf.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The biscuits, which are served at the 650 Cracker Barrel locations, have been traditionally baked fresh.<\/p>\n<p>However, the higher-ups decided that it would be better to make them the day before and freeze them, then reheat them.<\/p>\n<p>The results <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/woman-allegedly-smashes-car-popeyes-not-getting-biscuits-police-make-arrest-discovery-home\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">were biscuits<\/a> that were &ldquo;hard,&rdquo; &ldquo;rubbery,&rdquo; and &ldquo;like a rock,&rdquo; according to sources within the company.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;They thought that we&rsquo;d be faster and out sooner if we weren&rsquo;t rolling out bread,&rdquo; a cook with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/trump-weighs-cracker-barrel-controversy-says-company-great-opportunity\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the chain<\/a> told the Post.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;People want biscuits to be buttery and soft,&rdquo; she continued.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The most common complaint we&rsquo;ve gotten is that our biscuits are sometimes like a rock.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Basically the same thing was done with the meatloaf, again cooked the day before and zapped just before it was served.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Before, we cooked it in our oven, and the cook would cut it up still in the pan, which was in our steam line,&rdquo; the cook said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It was fresher.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The changes [to how food is prepared] were to account for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-admin-providing-an-additional-22000-h-2b-visas-to-help-businesses-address-pandemic-labor-shortage\/\" title=\"Biden Admin Providing An Additional 22,000 H-2B Visas To Help Businesses Address Pandemic Labor Shortage\">labor shortage<\/a> in the kitchen,&rdquo; the cook added.<\/p>\n<p>The move was done beginning last year after Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Felss Masino began cost-cutting measures, including cutting prep cooks and slashing the hours of other workers.<\/p>\n<p>Masino, who was named CEO in 2023, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/classic-american-restaurants-s-plummet-20-ceos-painful-admission-just-not-relevant\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">made headlines<\/a> beginning in 2024 by saying the chain was &ldquo;just not as relevant as we once were,&rdquo; adding that &ldquo;[s]ome of our recipes and processes haven&rsquo;t evolved in decades.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>They evolved, all right &mdash; all to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/watch-cracker-barrel-co-founder-roasts-failed-re-brand-mocks-ceo-came-taco-bell\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">save a few bucks on biscuits and meatloaf<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Don&rsquo;t get us wrong: Nobody here is suggesting that private companies are in the business of subsidizing failure. And it&rsquo;s not that the chain hasn&rsquo;t been willing to spend money under its new executive team. In fact, one of its biggest investors wrote last November that it was &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/prominent-cracker-barrel-investor-warned-execs-walking-textbook-trap\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">textbook trap of overspending on cosmetic remodeling.<\/a>&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The day Cracker Barrel opened, it was already old &mdash; its theme derived from the 1920s,&rdquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/enhancecrackerbarrel.com\/pdfs\/CBRL-BIGLARI-LETTER-NOV-13-2024.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">wrote<\/a> Sardar Biglari, who owns roughly 5 percent of Cracker Barrel&rsquo;s stock. &ldquo;I am concerned that not only will the remodel not work but it could actually damage the brand further.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Part of that &ldquo;remodel&rdquo; was the new logo &mdash; which was immediately loathed by pretty much everyone. Soon <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/breaking-cracker-barrel-caves-pressure-public-trump-restores-old-logo\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">after the fiasco began<\/a>, Masino and the rest of the team quietly stopped the cost-cutting measures.<\/p>\n<p>So, twice has Masino tanked the stock of her brand: once by declaring it irrelevant, then by making it so with a new logo that spat in the faces of the restaurant&rsquo;s customer base.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the higher-ups spent profligately on a rebrand it decidedly didn&rsquo;t need while cutting into the quality of the food.<\/p>\n<p>Now, she and the rest of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/a-real-life-iron-man-the-incredible-story-of-elon-musks-rise-to-worlds-richest-man\/\" title=\"\u2018A Real Life Iron-Man\u2019: The Incredible Story Of Elon Musk\u2019s Rise To World\u2019s Richest Man\">management team<\/a> have done what they should have done in the beginning and focused on quality.<\/p>\n<p>The idea that a change in logo and a large-scale renovation of restaurants, both of which served to make Cracker Barrel more generic, were going to solve what ailed the chain was bonkers to begin with. Anyone with sense could have told Masino and Co. that Southern charm and homestyle cooking were incompatible with this trajectory.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps they can pull a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/south-bends-infrastructure-bad-buttigieg-mayor-dominos-help-fill-potholes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Domino&rsquo;s<\/a>. Remember what the pizza chain did a few years back: admitted its food stunk, promised to make it better, and delivered. In this case, Cracker Barrel needs to admit that the whole culture is wrong and that it&rsquo;s rededicating itself to what makes the company worth saving. Absent that &mdash; or perhaps as a prelude to it &mdash; it should can the CEO. Both are probably necessary to sew up the self-inflicted wounds Cracker Barrel has incurred.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you needed further proof that the Cracker Barrel controversy goes beyond just a logo, a recent report reveals how the struggling casual dining chain prioritized cost-cutting over preserving its brand identity. According to The New York Post, prior to scrapping the logo redesign last month, company executives quietly mandated serving day-old biscuits and reheated meatloaf instead of freshly prepared items. Traditionally baked fresh at all 650 locations, the biscuits were instead made a day ahead, frozen, and reheated-resulting in hard and rubbery products described by insiders as &#8220;like a rock.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2484061,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Cracker-Barrel.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[60803,38880,4633],"class_list":["post-2484060","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-cracker-barrel","tag-food-safety","tag-scandal"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Cracker-Barrel.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2484060","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2484060"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2484060\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2484064,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2484060\/revisions\/2484064"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2484061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2484060"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2484060"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2484060"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}