Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Felss Masino is stepping down, less than a year after the rebrand that sent the chain’s most loyal customers elsewhere. As Consumer Edge SVP of Research and Market Intelligence Michael Gunther told the New York Post, losses started narrowing in June, “but it’s not as if sales momentum started surging.”
Our card data shows exactly who stayed away. After the August 2025 rebrand, Cracker Barrel’s share of casual and family dining spend fell year over year across every age group. The steepest losses came from diners 65 and older, down nearly 0.6 points at the November trough.
That pattern matters because those are Cracker Barrel’s core customers. The company indexes heavily to the 65-and-up crowd, and that group pulled back hardest. The 55-64 cohort traced a similar arc: gains before the rebrand, sharp losses through the winter, gradual improvement since.
By June 2026 the year-over-year gaps had narrowed to roughly flat across age groups. But narrowing losses are not growth. With new leadership arriving in August, what management says about winning back core customers is the thing to watch.
Notes: Chart shows the year-over-year change in Cracker Barrel’s share of casual dining and family dining spend by customer age group, monthly, July 2025 through June 2026. Source: Consumer Edge US credit and debit card data.
