The fallout from the Cracker Barrel rebrand attempt debacle continues, and it’s centering on DEI.
At the upcoming annual shareholder’s meeting on November 20, 2025, Glass Lewis and Institutional Shareholder Services (two major proxy advisory firms) are calling on investors to vote out one of the top Cracker Barrel executives. Surprisingly, it isn’t CEO Julie Felss Masino, who took the brunt of the criticism for the rebrand attempt.
A photo of Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Felss Masino – Photo Credit: Cracker Barrel
They are instead urging shareholders to vote against the re-election of Gilbert Dávila.
Who is Gilbert Dávila?
The Cracker Barrel website states, “Since 2010, Mr. Dávila has served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of DMI Consulting — a leading multicultural marketing, diversity & inclusion and strategy firm in the United States.”
Basically, Dávila is the DEI specialist for Cracker Barrel. He also sits on the board of directors and is one of Cracker Barrel’s top individual shareholders. The apparent role he played in the failed rebrand attempt landed the target on his back.
The new logo for Cracker Barrel – YouTube, TODAY
According to a report by Taylor Herzlich of the New York Post the two advisory firms slammed his “faulty” board level marketing expertise, and implied that he “played a significant role in the company’s rebranding.”
A note written by Institutional Shareholder Services points out, “Dávila is highlighted in board materials as one of two marketing specialists among the independent directors. He is also a member of a standing board committee whose purview is to assess social and political risks to the company’s business.”
Why Not Fire CEO Julie Felss Masino?
Neither firm is calling for the firing of Julie Felss Masino, who began her tenure as Cracker Barrel’s top executive in 2023 after resigning from Taco Bell, where she had served as President from January 2020 to June of 2023.
Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Felss Masino – YouTube, TODAY
While warning that more changes might be necessary if Cracker Barrel continues to struggle, ISS stated that removing Masino now would just create more chaos.
The Failed Rebrand Attempt
Back on August 19, 2025 Cracker Barrel unveiled their new logo design, simplified to just the name of the restaurant and eliminating the famed “Uncle Herschel”, aka the “Old Timer.”
The stock drop after Cracker Barrel rebranded its iconic logo – YouTube, TODAY
The new logo was met with an avalanche of fan backlash on social media, and was revealed to be the tip of the iceberg of rebranding that encompassed menu changes, cheaper cooking methods, and updated restaurant interiors.
We thank our guests for sharing your voices and love for Cracker Barrel. We said we would listen, and we have. Our new logo is going away and our “Old Timer” will remain.
At Cracker Barrel, it’s always been – and always will be – about serving up delicious food, warm… pic.twitter.com/C32QMLOeq0
— Cracker Barrel (@CrackerBarrel) August 26, 2025
Having apparently listened to the fans, Cracker Barrel quickly changed course to restore the old logo.
An August 26th X Post from Cracker Barrel reads: “We thank our guests for sharing your voices and love for Cracker Barrel. We said we would listen, and we have. Our new logo is going away and our “Old Timer” will remain.
“At Cracker Barrel, it’s always been – and always will be – about serving up delicious food, warm welcomes, and the kind of country hospitality that feels like family. As a proud American institution, our 70,000 hardworking employees look forward to welcoming you to our table soon.”
What’s Next For Cracker Barrel?
Cracker Barrel fans and shareholders await the November 20th shareholder meeting to see if the CEO or DEI specialist will be removed.
Notable investor and Steak ‘n Shake CEO Simon Biglari, who owns roughly 3% of all Cracker Barrel shares, has called for the ousting of both Dávila and Masino. Biglari went as far as to put up a billboard in Nashville, Tennessee mocking the initial rebrand with a similar logo that reads “Fire the CEO”.
Yes, we are responsible for this billboard.
Cracker Barrel’s board has failed its shareholders. It has spent over a decade fighting with one of its largest shareholders rather than collaborating for the good of the company. CB has been at the forefront of the DEI movement at… https://t.co/gwF2BR5iBD
— Steak ‘n Shake (@SteaknShake) September 18, 2025
The official Steak ‘n Shake X account posted, “Yes, we are responsible for this billboard. Cracker Barrel’s board has failed its shareholders. It has spent over a decade fighting with one of its largest shareholders rather than collaborating for the good of the company. CB has been at the forefront of the DEI movement at the same time it has reduced food quality and burned millions on failed acquisitions. The board apparently has more regard for DEI than ROI. Now, we are running a proxy contest at our own expense to fire the CEO. Biglari is doing the work left undone by the board.”
Since that time, Cracker Barrel has made efforts to improve it’s public image, including walking back the new logo for the old and returning to better cooking techniques for improved food quality.
Food at Cracker Barrel – YouTube, TODAY
Just last month Cracker Barrel wrote in a letter to shareholders, “The Board, Ms. Masino and the senior leadership team are working diligently in the best interests of all shareholders to position the Company to return to the momentum and positive trajectory of fiscal 2025.”
While this seems like a positive effort, according to NASDAQ Cracker Barrel stock is down roughly 43% over the last six months.
The interior of a Cracker Barrel restaurant – YouTube, TODAY
Will Dávila be voted out on November 20th? Will Masino stay or go? While Cracker Barrel was once a solid and stable brand with a loyal fan base, after it’s turmoil in 2025 the future of the “old country store” is anyone’s guess.
Do you think Cracker Barrel will dump its DEI specialist or CEO? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
Once Claim Jumper went belly up, I switched to Cracker Barrel for my “Small town, mama’s kitchen” style food, especially the country fried steak with taters and sawmill gravy! Then they significantly cut portion sizes, started using clearly inferior ingredients, and overall service plunged.
It has been a long time since I ate at CB, if they can get rid of the DEI dude on the board, I may celebrate and see if they’ve returned to even a shadow of their former self. Maybe they ditch the CEO who apparently didn’t bother to market test this new logo with anyone who has actually been to CB, and just took people’s word that the old logo was racist. Then I will certainly celebrate with a CB meal.
I don’t think I’ve seen a rebranding fail this bad since New Coke. Unless you count the recent trannies and fatties as Victoria Secret “Angels” thing. Or Sports Illustrated trannies and fatties in the Swimsuit issue phase. Ok, maybe there are more than I can think of off the top of my head. Most of them have to do with DEI.
Oh, I can’t believe I left out the Disney and Universal DEI history rewrite they’re still trying to do by race and gender swapping every chance they get.
I don’t know if you can blame the cute White girl for doing cute White girl things. The whole reason the White savior complex exists is because of White women falling for emotional arguments because all their decisions are based on how they feel. The people at fault here are the ones that put her in charge and allowed an extreme leftist to be a board member.
True, but by all accounts she did pretty well when she was running Taco Bell. On the other hand she did have the example set by “Demolition Man” to help guide her footsteps to walking her part of the path to Taco Bell dominance.
She is Jewish, btw.
Wanna ruin your business? Hire a girl boss.