Dive Brief:
- Cracker Barrel’s loyalty program is a bright spot in an otherwise rough past month during which the company faced backlash over a failed logo redesign and store renovation effort. Membership is up 300,000 since Aug. 19, President and CEO Julie Masino said on a Q4 2025 earnings call Wednesday.
- The company plans to listen closely to what customers say in the future as it looks for ways to improve its restaurants, food and experience, according to Masino.
- The Cracker Barrel Rewards program will be a key part of the listening effort, according to Masino. On Thursday, the company launched the Front Porch Feedback feature, which lets loyalty members comment directly on their experience after every visit.
Dive Insight:
Cracker Barrel will lean into listening to and deepening its connection with customers as it embarks on a journey to rekindle traffic growth.
The new logo and planned remodels were only one part of the restaurant’s multiyear plan, according to Masino. The company will now place a bigger emphasis on CX and food enhancements, and Cracker Barrel Rewards members will help the company fine tune its strategy.
Loyalty membership is up 3 million year over year to 9 million members after only two years of the program, according to Masino. Members account for more than 35% of tracked sales, and their input will help Cracker Barrel take action on its initiatives.
“We think what we can do with Front Porch Feedback is really hear from our loyal guests who are in all the time, who've had an experience with us,” Masino said during the earnings call. “We've set it up so that it actually is linked to the traffic so that we can understand their transaction, their store, and we can start to aggregate feedback in new ways.”
Backlash over the changed logo and store remodels, which were only tested in four locations, are top of mind, but Cracker Barrel is also working to overcome deeper challenges that extend back further.
“The choices people have, their expectations around food and experience, the way they travel, and their technology have all changed dramatically over the last decade, and the company had not kept pace,” Masino said.
One part of the broader strategy is The Herschel Way, a set of service principles rolled out in early August that “aligns our team members to consistently deliver exceptional guest experiences,” Masino said. The Herschel Way builds on updated service standards introduced in the third quarter of 2025.
Cracker Barrel’s total revenue was down 2.9% year over year to $868 million in the fourth quarter of 2025, which ended before the logo controversy began, according to a company earnings report. Comparable store restaurant sales were up 5.4% year over year, while comparable store retail sales decreased 0.8%.
The restaurant chain still has work ahead. Cracker Barrel expects comparable store traffic to drop 4% to 7% year over year in fiscal 2026, including a steeper drop at the beginning of the period.
