Cracker Barrel announced Monday that CEO Julie Masino will step down effective August 10 and be replaced by David Deno, most recently the CEO of Bloomin' Brands, the parent company of Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba's Italian Grill and Bonefish Grill, who retired from that role in 2024. Masino will remain with the company as an advisor through October 9.
Masino was hired in July 2023 from Taco Bell and Starbucks, brought in to modernize Cracker Barrel and attract new customers.
She introduced new menu items and embarked on a redesign that included a new simplified logo, removing the "Old Timer" figure the chain had used since the 1970s. The backlash was swift and loud.
President Trump weighed in on Truth Social suggesting the company go back to its old logo.
Within a week, Cracker Barrel reversed course on the logo and returned to the Old Timer. Same-store restaurant sales fell 5 percent last fall and 7 percent in the following quarter. Masino told conservative radio host Glenn Beck: "I feel like I've been fired by America."
Shareholders voted in November to keep her anyway. Sales trends had begun to improve, same-store restaurant sales were down only 2.6 percent in the most recent quarter and the company had raised its full-year forecast.
Citi analyst Jon Tower called Monday's announcement "surprising given those recent improvements."
Deno takes over August 10 with prior executive experience at Best Buy and Yum Brands in addition to Bloomin'.