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Cracker Barrel founder, 93, gives damning verdict on $7M-a-year CEO as she breaks cover after rebrand fiasco
Daily Mail UK ^ | August 29, 2025 | Germania Rodriguez Poleo

Posted on 08/29/2025 11:50:40 AM PDT by Morgana

Cracker Barrel's co-founder has delivered a scathing critique of the restaurant chain's CEO after a botched rebranding.

Tommy Lowe, 93, accused Julie Felss Masino of failing to grasp what Cracker Barrel stands for, pointing to her previous stint at Taco Bell.

'They're trying to modernize to be like the competition. Cracker Barrel doesn't have any competition,' Low, who co-founded Cracker Barrel with the late Dan Evins in Lebanon, Tennessee in 1969, told WTVF.

'I heard she was at Taco Bell. What's Taco Bell know about Cracker Barrel and country food? They need to work on the food and service and leave the barrel, the logo, alone.'

The criticism comes after Cracker Barrel scrapped its controversial new logo Tuesday following a flood of outrage. The redesign removed the iconic 'Old Timer' figure — an old man leaning against a barrel — leaving only the chain's name in a modern font.

Lowe weighed into the saga as Masino, who earns $6.68 million a year in salary and bonuses, was spotted Thursday leaving her home in an affluent Nashville neighborhood.

When approached by Fox News Digital, Masino — who took the helm of the 650-location Southern comfort food chain in 2023 — refused to answer questions

She quickly got into her Mercedes-Benz, flanked by security in another vehicle, and drove to a nearby Starbucks for coffee.

(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Front Page News; Government; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: bossgirl; ceo; crackerbarrel; danevins; juliefelssmasino; tennessee; tommylowe
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To: Morgana
What's Taco Bell know about Cracker Barrel and country food?

What's Taco Bell know about Mexican food?

What's Taco Bell know about what Taco Bell used to be?

41 posted on 08/29/2025 2:40:35 PM PDT by Mr.Unique (My boss wants me to sign up for a 401K. No way I'm running that far! )
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To: Jim W N

Whoa...they are paying that bimbo 7 MILLION per year in salary and bonuses???


42 posted on 08/29/2025 2:43:07 PM PDT by who knows what evil? (Hospitals are the most dangerous place on Earth! Dr. David Williams)
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To: who knows what evil?
Whoa...they are paying that bimbo 7 MILLION per year in salary and bonuses???

The wages of Political Correctness...

43 posted on 08/29/2025 3:01:27 PM PDT by Jim W N (MAGA by restoring the Gospel of the Grace of Christ (Jude 3) and our Free Constitutional Republic!)
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To: ClearCase_guy

MBAs. A scam. Worthless and worse than that.


44 posted on 08/29/2025 3:12:31 PM PDT by RinaseaofDs (Imagine what we'll know tomorrow.)
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To: Morgana

Cracker Barrel’s EPS has declined significantly over the past five years from a high above $10 in 2021, to $1.83 last year.

This whole rebranding thing was a “Hail Mary.”

They are headed for a cement wall, going 50 miles an hour.


45 posted on 08/29/2025 3:17:36 PM PDT by Vermont Lt
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To: Morgana
Masino, who earns $6.68 million a year in salary and bonuses,

I can't think of anyone who deserves even one quarter of that compensation..........

46 posted on 08/29/2025 3:43:11 PM PDT by Hot Tabasco
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To: Jim W N

“...Again, another disconnected female in charge of something other than her own home....”

They’re AWFUL: Affluent White Female UrbanLleftest.
They’ve done more to harm America than any other genre.


47 posted on 08/29/2025 5:36:26 PM PDT by lgjhn23 ("On the 8th day, Satan created the progressive liberal to destroy all the good that God created...")
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To: Morgana

My long time observation is that CEOs getting multi-million dollar salaries always feel the need to fix things that don’t need fixing, just to justify their outrageous compensation. Why pay someone millions just to keep things exactly the same?


48 posted on 08/29/2025 5:55:56 PM PDT by rightwingcrazy (;-,)
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To: Morgana

I think the Starbucks CEO came from Taco Bell too. Proof the boards that hire these people never go to Taco Bell.


49 posted on 08/29/2025 6:12:32 PM PDT by HonkyTonkMan ( )
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To: HonkyTonkMan

The board members all scratch each others’ backs.


50 posted on 08/29/2025 6:13:02 PM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: Morgana

And the CEO should be spending her coffee and snack money at Cracker Barrel, not Starbucks. She is a walking definition of a no-brainer.


51 posted on 08/29/2025 6:13:17 PM PDT by Tudorfly (All things are possible within the will of God.)
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To: unclebankster

She needs her own private motorcade (paid for by the company) because she’s a big important corporation-runner.


52 posted on 08/29/2025 6:41:55 PM PDT by fluorescence
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To: ClearCase_guy

#8 Comedy group in Australia
This one is about a guy who can save the gov’t at least $3 billion and be finished in 2 years for a train project the gov’t said would cost a tick over $5 billion and take over 6 years.
Naturally the gov’t higher ups bury his proposal and announce the project will now cost $10 billion and take many more years.
The site has many more views of how things ‘work’.

The Co-Worker You Wish You Had
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTAbTvWesh8


53 posted on 08/30/2025 1:13:20 AM PDT by minnesota_bound (Making money now. Still want much more.)
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To: noiseman

New management showed up at the east coast office several years ago to the company prior to me retiring from back in Nov 2021 and they started shaking things up. Still the same old but they were just rearranging the deck chairs. It was obvious they did not have any new ideas. They outsourced depts to other companies, hired from temp companies etc. I think they wanted turnover. Management gets the big bonus money.

I heard from a former co-worker on thursday that my old office building here in California is closing and they are laying off people. They are getting layoff notices to stay on until the beginning of October.
It once had almost 300 people working there.
The person who told me does not know if she is one of them yet as her dept is based in the east coast office. She currently works 3 days at home and 2 days in the office.
The covid scamdemic wrecked many lives and business’s.


54 posted on 08/30/2025 2:29:10 AM PDT by minnesota_bound (Making money now. Still want much more.)
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To: ken in texas

#17 Following in the steps of GE’s Jack Welch who would change sales dates to make it look like they had more sales that year. He also sold GE pieces to boost stock price and he owned lots of stock.


55 posted on 08/30/2025 2:34:36 AM PDT by minnesota_bound (Making money now. Still want much more.)
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To: Hot Tabasco

My thoughts exactly. No one is worth that much.


56 posted on 08/30/2025 4:29:14 AM PDT by redfreedom (They’re AWFUL...Affuent White Female Urban Leftists)
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To: minnesota_bound

Thanks. I was not aware of that show. I’ve been binge watching it since you sent me the link.

I retired earlier this year from a position as contractor to the government. It’s a horrific environment.


57 posted on 08/30/2025 5:40:05 AM PDT by ClearCase_guy (Society has no reward for following the rules any more)
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To: joshua c
she would qualify for a bonus with this performance?

And likely a 1-year severance to cover 100% of her salary, plus unused PTO, plus some sort of kicker. She'd also likely retain all of her options/shares that were vested, and perhaps even invested in order to avoid any claims of sexism.

She'd also likely retain any other board positions she may have with other companies, since so many of these folks seem just be retreads.

58 posted on 08/30/2025 7:23:18 AM PDT by voicereason (When a bartender can join Congress and become a millionaire...there’s a problem.)
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To: Morgana

Matt Walsh nailed it. Too many women on executive boards.


59 posted on 08/30/2025 8:49:17 AM PDT by AbolishCSEU (Amount of "child" support paid is inversely proportionate to mother's actual parenting of children)
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To: SaveFerris

+1


60 posted on 08/30/2025 12:33:49 PM PDT by Gene Eric
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