Peg Board Game Is Cracker Barrel’s Latest Victim Amid Their “Woke Go Broke” Strategy

Image Credit: EnterTheLight / Shutterstock & Cracker Barrel Old Country Store / Facebook

The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –

Cracker Barrel appears to have boarded the runaway “Woke Go Broke” train and is hurtling toward disaster in its quest to reinvent itself and be welcoming to “all” in their restaurants and stores.

Despite the restaurant telling Newsweek over the weekend that “our values haven’t changed” in a statement, and that “the heart and soul of Cracker Barrel haven’t changed” there is indeed more bad news for old-timey fans who do not appreciate all of the new-fangled rebranding.

Not content with whitewashing the walls, and booting poor Uncle Herschel along with his beloved barrel, Cracker Barrel’s beloved peg game is the next victim in the corporation’s transformation.

The simple game of pegs and wooden triangular stand that has entertained diners while they waited for their food has poked fun at players with its wording for decades.

Winning the game by leaving one peg granted you the accolade of “genius” and two pegs acknowledged you as “purty smart”, while providing less complimentary monikers for those leaving three pegs who were saddled with being “just plain dumb” and four or “mor’n” as an “eg-no-ra-moose.”

The game’s design and rules remain the same but there are no losers anymore. Now if you leave one peg, you’re still a genius, but leave two and you’re “rocking the chair but not the game.” Leaving three or more no longer earns you chastisement but an encouragement to “try again” while assuring the player there’s “no need to be embarrassed.”

“The peg game is still the same peg game our guests have known and loved for years,” a Cracker Barrel spokesperson told Country Living. “Some may look visually different now, but the rules and fun remain completely unchanged.” 

Amid a massive loss of corporate sponsorship – nearly half – that has organizers of Nashville Pride sounding the alarm over whether they will be able to host future LGBTQ events, Cracker Barrel is doubling down on their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts.

Known for their front porches strewn with rocking chairs, Cracker Barrel hosted two seating areas during Nashville Pride in June, what they called “bringing the front porch to Pride.” 

Founded in 1969 by Dan Evins, Cracker Barrel’s design was inspired by traditional small-town stores reminiscent of his growing-up years. Named for the barrels of soda crackers once found in early 20th century country stores across the south, the part restaurant, part gift shop concept of Cracker Barrel embodied neighborliness, and old-fashioned comfort food found in the kitchens of southern grandmothers.

Cracker Barrel celebrated 55 years of “country hospitality” last September.

The first location was built on the Gallatin Highway 109 exit, near I-40, in Lebanon, Tennessee. But rather than continuing in the nostalgic vein upon which the corporation’s success was built, its CEO, Julie Felss Masino, is leading the way instead into a woke new future, completely alienating the brand’s loyal customer base in the process.

Last week, as Cracker Barrel’s stock plunged, shedding almost $100 million in market value, in the wake of its simplified logo release, the corporation threw a party for TikTok influencers in New York City where they line danced and sampled the menu.

The logo change, ditching the old-timer dressed in overalls known as “Uncle Herschel” as well as the tagline “Old Country Store”, follows the remodeling of a handful of the 658 restaurants across the United States. While the makeover of the cozy, vintage interior, part of Cracker Barrel’s charm, to a “Millenial Farmhouse” style has been praised mostly by employees, the updates have not found favor with longtime customers who say the modernized locations look generic.

Masino, who said last year that Cracker Barrel was not as “relevant” as it used to be, has insisted that the changes she is rolling out is exactly what customers want but chatter across various social media platforms says otherwise. Restaurant patrons from the town where it all started overwhelmingly say that the real problem that the chain needs to fix is the quality of its food which they report to be less tasty than in years gone by, mostly arriving at the table lukewarm or cold.

The Cracker Barrel debacle is certainly reminiscent of the backlash that Anheuser-Busch faced in 2023 when their Bud Light brand thought it a genius move to partner with social media influencer and transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney. Shares for Anheuser-Busch similarly plummeted, taking more than a year to fully recover.

About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.