New CEO inherits Cracker Barrel still recovering from rebrand backlash

Cracker Barrel is handing the keys to a new driver while the old one is still in the parking lot.

Julie Masino will step down this summer, with David Deno taking the helm on August 10. The transition arrives in the middle of a slow, uneven recovery from last year's rebrand misstep — the one that stripped the "old timer" from the logo and reworked interiors that customers had grown up with. Traffic is climbing relative to recent trends, but the chain's own executives concede it remains below last year's levels. Comparable restaurant sales fell 2.6%, dragged by a 6.7% traffic decline.

The numbers tell the real story. The stock is down roughly 18% year-over-year, still well below pre-rebrand levels. That sounds grim until you notice the qualifier: it is up 105% since the start of 2026. The market has already priced in most of the comeback narrative. What is left is execution.

Cracker Barrel is not waiting for sentiment to do the work. Last week it sold 35 Maple Street locations to Biscuit Belly LLC and closed the remaining 16, exiting that business entirely. It also completed a sale-leaseback on 26 company-owned stores, generating about $77 million in net proceeds earmarked for debt reduction. The chain will continue operating those locations under lease. It is a familiar playbook: monetize real estate, lighten the balance sheet, and let operators focus on the dining room.

The brand lesson is older than the company. As one expert put it plainly, a brand is what customers believe it is — not what management wants it to be. Cracker Barrel learned that the hard way, and the incoming CEO inherits both the bill and the blueprint for fixing it.