#62 Cracker Barrel • Minimal Isn’t the Problem. Meaningless Is.
26 August 2025

#62 Cracker Barrel • Minimal Isn’t the Problem. Meaningless Is.

A Think First Podcast with Jim Detjen

About

Cracker Barrel spent $700 million on a makeover. New interiors. A new menu. A new logo.

The company says the heart of the brand hasn’t changed. But when a logo stops telling the truth — when it could belong to anyone — it stops belonging to the people who loved it.

This episode of Think First isn’t about pancakes. It’s about memory, meaning, and what happens when design confuses “modern” with “appropriate.” Nostalgia isn’t fluff. It’s capital. Strip it away, and you’re not evolving — you’re erasing.

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