Posted on 11/27/2025 5:24:37 AM PST by E. Pluribus Unum
Cracker Barrel's embattled CEO has complained that she was 'fired by America' in a recent interview.
Julie Felss Masino, the restaurant's president and chief executive officer, was saved by investors last week after 75 percent of shares were cast in her favor.
The vote came after Masino's controversial efforts to give the brand a 'woke' revamp.
In an interview with The Blaze's Glenn Beck, Masino discussed her leadership role.
'This is probably very unfair to ask you. Were you surprised you weren't fired?' Beck asked.
'Um, I feel like I've been fired by America,' Masino said with a laugh.
'That's probably worse,' Beck responded.
Speaking alongside senior vice president of store operations Doug Hisel on The Glenn Beck Podcast, Masino said she never intended to redesign the entire restaurant.
Cracker Barrel's embattled CEO has complained that she was 'fired by America' in a recent interview
Julie Felss Masino, the restaurant's president and chief executive officer, was saved by investors after 75 percent of shares were cast in her favor
'I think a lot of people think that Doug and me and other people sit around, are like, "Let's remodel Cracker Barrel." Nothing could be further from the truth,' Masino said.
'The notion for some of that truly came out of a lot of the work that we were doing on how do we improve food and experience. When we were talking to our guests, they said, "Stores could be a little bit more comfortable. They're real dark. I can't read the menu."'
Masino confessed that she and her team may have missed the mark with their efforts to rebrand.
'We're sorry that that's what people feel,' Masino said.
'That was not the intent. It was not the intent. It hurts me, because I don't want people to be...'
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
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Glad she’s gone because I like Cracker Barrel.
Kat does not need glasses to see.
She wears them so that people take her more seriously.
Instead of just a pretty young blonde girl
That’s an interesting question. My favorite single location is Taichung Grill in San Francisco., foundedm1849! As far as chains go…
| Category | Winner | Founded | Why They’re the Champion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Absolute oldest still operating (original location never closed) | Nathan’s Famous | 1916 | Still open on exact same Coney Island corner for 109 years; never bankrupt, runs the July 4th hot-dog contest since 1916 |
| Oldest franchised chain | A&W Restaurants | 1919 | First to sell franchises (1925); root-beer identity kept it alive through multiple owners |
| Oldest hamburger chain | White Castle | 1921 | Family-owned 100+ years, profitable every decade, invented the slider, never chased trends |
Some people hesitate to call Nathan’s Famous a “chain” because the original Coney Island stand still completely dominates the brand image. Most locations are non-traditional (ballparks, travel plazas, kiosks) rather than big sit-down stores. Only ~40–50 are traditional street-front restaurants. Many Americans have eaten Nathan’s hot dogs for decades without ever seeing a standalone Nathan’s restaurant. That’s me!
Happy Thanksgiving to you and family, too!
And?
was saved by investors after 75 percent of shares were cast in her favor
She should at least take the nose off the glasses.
“people think that Doug and me and other people sit around”
“Doug and ME”? Seriously? And she has a college degree?
Big time!
Exactly.
Recognize Cuban, who’s the other guy?
Investment banks
How many of those shares were voted by Leftist multinational investment funds?
Smiles as she acknowledges that she damaged her company’s brand, affected revenue, and stock value. Yes Miss CEO it’s a big joke that America fired you, putz.
The company is failing. The votes cast were by stockholders believing the CEO must bring about change or the company will be lost.
It is business, not political Ideology
Cracker Barrel seems dedicated to destroying their brand. The CEOs must all be complete morons. Anybody remember the Duck Dynasty fiasco?
They are trying to recover from the damage the rebranding did. Uncle Ben will be replaced by George Floyd, Aunt Jemima will be replaced by Jasmine Crockett and a new injun on Land O'Lakes butter will be a certain Senator.
The Bud Light sheman, this ilk and the hateful POS running to be Nashville’s mayor are ALL cut from the same cloth - America hating, white man hating and Christian despising human garbage.
What in the world is WRONG with these hateful, disgusting ‘women’???
(Still not convinced the Bud Light thing is a woman.)
That being said, these types of women are a danger to America.
ALL in my opinion.
She bungled the Cracker Barrel reset, and the episode will provide an excellent case study in business schools for years to come. It’s a classic example of what can easily happen when MBA and consultant disease take over. Outsiders move in, decide to shake things up (maybe a little, maybe a lot, maybe for good reasons) and totally mess it up because they are completely tone deaf and can’t read the room.
One wonders how many Cracker Barrels this gal had eaten at before she applied or was recruited for the job.
In some parallel universe, it’s not hard to imagine how this could have all been handled in a smart way. EVERY statement from senior management should have begun with, and leaned strongly into throughout the message, Cracker Barrel’s iconic niche on the American landscape.
THEN, and only then, should the messaging slip into, “That said, we have to recognize that we can’t simply stand still. The environment is changing. Consumers have new options and many of them have new tastes. Population patterns also shift, and we have a lot of stores than have been bypassed.
“The question therefore is how can we protect and honor our iconic legacy while adapting constructively to a new environment. We are losing market share. Our customer base is rapidly aging. We may remain your grandparents’ favorite restaurant, and we want to continue that, but we also need to attract new customers who will fill our rocking chairs for the next 50 years.”
Emphasize continuity and tradition and be deferential about changes. In terms of messaging, that would go a long way in creating running room for more substantial changes over time.
The “I’m the new CEO with an MBA and a Taco Bell track record, and I’m here to shake this place up” is NOT the way to lead this kind of change.
If this fiasco is forgotten, it will be because it will have been eclipsed by even greater blunders. Which automaker was it that last year forgot it was selling cars, and instead built an identity rebrand around selling metrosexual gender confusion? It’s hard to top that for management stupidity.
That sort of thing is basically funny, and companies that don’t pull out of the death spiral soon enough can go bust. And good riddance. It gets scary when Boeing thinking that crossdressing trans employees dancing around aircraft assembly plants is a good corporate rebrand. It shows where senior management’s head is, and a company built around legendary engineering decided to beclown itself. MBA disease at work.
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