It’s not this one; people like this one (Jeffrey Greenberg/Getty Images)

identity crisis

Cracker Barrel sinks after unveiling new logo, which some people — including Donald Trump Jr. — really hate

The company’s stock was down more than 12% in early trading on Thursday, as the 56-year-old chain tries to reinvent itself.

Tom Jones

8/21/25 9:47AM

On Wednesday, Southern-themed restaurant chain Cracker Barrel revealed a new, stripped-back logo, as the company presses on with its biggest branding overhaul since it shook things up in 1977. So far, people online have reacted as well as they did to British carmaker Jaguar’s rebrand late last year — that is, not very.

The new, minimalist design leaves the brand name on a plain orange background, chopping out the cartoon barrel that previously sat there, the man leaning against it, and the “Old Country Store” written beneath them. Though a press release from the restaurant says the new logo roots it “even more closely to the iconic barrel shape and wordmark that started it all,” critics aren’t convinced. One X user lamented, “Noooooo they private equity’d Cracker Barrel,” and the US Graphics Company responded, “Each sunrise, farther from God.” Others have taken issue politically as well as aesthetically — Donald Trump Jr. is not a fan.

The market’s view was similarly dim, with CBRL trading down 12% on Thursday.

Cracker Barrel

The logo refresh builds on revamped restaurant and store interiors announced last year, in addition to a new fall menu and free side promotion this weekend. It also comes amid a bit of a moment for the casual dining industry more widely, with Americans increasingly viewing casual chains as the value option — though how well positioned Cracker Barrel is to make the most of that appetite is another question.

Though annual revenues reached a record $3.47 billion last year, sales haven’t grown quite so healthily as they had for the company serving up “Hashbrown Casserole Shepherd’s Pies” and “Uncle Herschel’s Favorites.” From 1994 to 2004, Cracker Barrel’s revenues grew more than 270%; in the 20 years since then, they’re up just 46%. Will a new logo reinvigorate sales? So far, it’s not looking good.

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Chris Stokel-Walker6h

Max Knoblauch8h

Ford joins GM in backing off of its EV tax credit extension plan following GOP criticism

Ford, despite benefiting from an electric sales surge in recent months, is giving up on a clever accounting plan to extend the expired $7,500 EV tax credit to some of its customers.

Like its rival GM earlier this week, Ford on Thursday night confirmed to Reuters that it will not claim the tax credit, backing off from its short-lived leasing strategy.

The automakers’ plan was to extend the subsidy by using their financial arms to put down payments on electric vehicles already on their dealers’ lots in late September. Those transactions would qualify for the credit, and Ford and GM could pass the discount on to customers through leases.

But the strategy angered GOP senators, who last week wrote a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent accusing the automakers of “bilking” taxpayers.

Ford CEO Jim Farley last month said he expects the end of the tax credit to cut EV sales in half.

Exclusive: Ford reverses plan to claim EV tax credits, following GM

But the strategy angered GOP senators, who last week wrote a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent accusing the automakers of “bilking” taxpayers.

Ford CEO Jim Farley last month said he expects the end of the tax credit to cut EV sales in half.

Tom Jones

china crisis

12h

Porsche’s problems in China just keep getting worse

Sales in the region fell by more than a fifth in Q3.

Vintage Paint-Chipped Silver Porsche Speedster

Max Knoblauch

10/9/25

Delta, boosted by premium ticket sales, says customers who go Comfort+ don’t go back

Delta’s third-quarter revenue beat Wall Street estimates on Thursday, led by 9% growth in its premium ticket category.

Tom Jones10/9/25

Domino’s just announced its first rebrand in 13 years — maybe a new, “doughier” font will help sales pick up

Shaboozey! Domino’s Sans! Hotter colors as a nod to the melty heat of a pizza pulled fresh from the oven!

In a buzzword-laden justification of its rebrand yesterday, Domino’s laid plain its new aesthetic direction, coined the term “Cravemark,” and announced it would be bringing the focus back to its food, having (at least in its executive vice president’s words) become known as “a technology company that happens to sell pizza” over the last decade.

It can’t go any worse than Cracker Barrel’s refresh efforts, at least...

The raft of changes, which will roll out across the US and other international markets in the coming months, includes a new “audio and visual expression” of the brand’s name (throwing a few extra M’s on the boxes and getting country/hip-hop artist Shaboozey to elongate the letter in a jingle); brighter packaging and hotter colors; “more youthful” team uniforms (company-color Salomons and an apron with “pizza is brat” on it, maybe?); and a new “Domino’s Sans” font, which is “thicker and doughier” and has circles and semicircles “in nod to pizza, with lots of personality baked right in!”

Domino’s is down about 2% so far this year.

Domino's® New Craveable Brand Refresh Makes You Say "Mmm" | Domino's Pizza