🚨EXCLUSIVE. She knew. @CrackerBarrel CEO Julie Felss Masino and her...
Asra Nomani@AsraNomani
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Aug 29, 2025
~4 min read
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🚨EXCLUSIVE. She knew.
@CrackerBarrel CEO Julie Felss Masino and her board ignored warnings last year from investor Sardar Biglari that her "strategic transformation plan" and rebrand was "obvious folly."
🧵has the receipts from our new @FoxNews @FoxBusiness investigation.
@CrackerBarrel CEO Julie Felss Masino and her board ignored warnings last year from investor Sardar Biglari that her "strategic transformation plan" and rebrand was "obvious folly."
🧵has the receipts from our new @FoxNews @FoxBusiness investigation.
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Autopsy: How @CrackerBarrel blew it over 15 months.
1⃣ May 16, 2024, 4:30 PM ET
CEO Julie Felss Masino unveils a “strategic transformation plan" in a📞call with investors.
Pillar #1: "REFINE THE BRAND."
📉 Wall Street heard jargon. The stock tanked.
1⃣ May 16, 2024, 4:30 PM ET
CEO Julie Felss Masino unveils a “strategic transformation plan" in a📞call with investors.
Pillar #1: "REFINE THE BRAND."
📉 Wall Street heard jargon. The stock tanked.
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@CrackerBarrel @FoxNews @FoxBusiness @robbystarbuck @JGunlock @carriesheffield @rikoruss31 @mkhammer @Riley_Gaines_ @data_republican @w_terrence @MattWalshBlog @ChristinaPushaw @SJohnston60 @Hebro_Steele @RepDonaldsPress @carolinedowney_ @jlawrencenc @BlueBoxDave @CGasparino @JenniferSey @LisaMarieBoothe @dagenmcdowell 2⃣ Oct. 8, 2024: "Chickens have come home to roost"
Cracker Barrel investor Sardar Biglari and board critic fires off a letter to shareholders, saying:
🧨"Strategic transformation plan" is "obvious folly"
🧨 "Cracker Barrel is not a broken brand but it has a broken board"
Cracker Barrel investor Sardar Biglari and board critic fires off a letter to shareholders, saying:
🧨"Strategic transformation plan" is "obvious folly"
🧨 "Cracker Barrel is not a broken brand but it has a broken board"
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@CrackerBarrel @FoxNews @FoxBusiness @robbystarbuck @JGunlock @carriesheffield @rikoruss31 @mkhammer @Riley_Gaines_ @data_republican @w_terrence @MattWalshBlog @ChristinaPushaw @SJohnston60 @Hebro_Steele @RepDonaldsPress @carolinedowney_ @jlawrencenc @BlueBoxDave @CGasparino @JenniferSey @LisaMarieBoothe @dagenmcdowell @megbasham @Camp4 @matt_vanswol @CBHeresy @SteaknShake @LarryOConnor @IWN 3⃣ Oct. 24, 2024: Fed up.
Investor Sardar Biglari lays out his criticisms in a 120-page slide-deck presentation with the title, "CRACKER BARREL IS IN CRISIS."
🔗Get links to the presentations and the receipts inside the @FoxNews @FoxBusiness article: foxbusiness.com/money/cracker-…
Investor Sardar Biglari lays out his criticisms in a 120-page slide-deck presentation with the title, "CRACKER BARREL IS IN CRISIS."
🔗Get links to the presentations and the receipts inside the @FoxNews @FoxBusiness article: foxbusiness.com/money/cracker-…
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@CrackerBarrel @FoxNews @FoxBusiness @robbystarbuck @JGunlock @carriesheffield @rikoruss31 @mkhammer @Riley_Gaines_ @data_republican @w_terrence @MattWalshBlog @ChristinaPushaw @SJohnston60 @Hebro_Steele @RepDonaldsPress @carolinedowney_ @jlawrencenc @BlueBoxDave @CGasparino @JenniferSey @LisaMarieBoothe @dagenmcdowell @megbasham @Camp4 @matt_vanswol @CBHeresy @SteaknShake @LarryOConnor @IWN @roddreher @SwipeWright @MikeCosper @ClayTravis @cvpayne @LizMacDonaldFOX @HarmeetKDhillon @carolmswain @MarioNawfal 4⃣ ~ Oct. 29, 2024: A Rebuttal.
Cracker Barrel's CEO and board reject investor Sardar Biglari's criticism. He publishes another slide-deck, this time warning the "result could be catastrophic" if Cracker Barrel doesn't ditch its misguided "transformation plan" and rebrand.
Cracker Barrel's CEO and board reject investor Sardar Biglari's criticism. He publishes another slide-deck, this time warning the "result could be catastrophic" if Cracker Barrel doesn't ditch its misguided "transformation plan" and rebrand.
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5⃣ Nov. 13, 2024: An Investor's New Warning.
Investor Sardar Biglari tells the board to ditch the rebrand: "The day Cracker Barrel opened," in 1969, "it was already old — its theme derived from the 1920s."
"I am concerned that not only will the remodel not work but it could actually damage the brand further."
He noted: "Let me make my position clear: The company’s $700 million remodel plan will not work!"
Investor Sardar Biglari tells the board to ditch the rebrand: "The day Cracker Barrel opened," in 1969, "it was already old — its theme derived from the 1920s."
"I am concerned that not only will the remodel not work but it could actually damage the brand further."
He noted: "Let me make my position clear: The company’s $700 million remodel plan will not work!"
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@CrackerBarrel @FoxNews @FoxBusiness @robbystarbuck @JGunlock @carriesheffield @rikoruss31 @mkhammer @Riley_Gaines_ @data_republican @w_terrence @MattWalshBlog @ChristinaPushaw @SJohnston60 @Hebro_Steele @RepDonaldsPress @carolinedowney_ @jlawrencenc @BlueBoxDave @CGasparino @JenniferSey @LisaMarieBoothe @dagenmcdowell @megbasham @Camp4 @matt_vanswol @CBHeresy @SteaknShake @LarryOConnor @IWN @roddreher @SwipeWright @MikeCosper @ClayTravis @cvpayne @LizMacDonaldFOX @HarmeetKDhillon @carolmswain @MarioNawfal @kangminlee @crwiley1962 @realJennaEllis @jsolomonReports @greg_price11 6⃣ Jan. 13, 2025: Cracker Barrel brags about its "outstanding leadership"
At a conference, Cracker Barrel touts its "outstanding leadership team," including CEO Julie Masino.
Still, it's No. 1 "Transportation Plan" pillar: "REFINE THE BRAND."
investor.crackerbarrel.com/static-files/2…
At a conference, Cracker Barrel touts its "outstanding leadership team," including CEO Julie Masino.
Still, it's No. 1 "Transportation Plan" pillar: "REFINE THE BRAND."
investor.crackerbarrel.com/static-files/2…
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@CrackerBarrel @FoxNews @FoxBusiness @robbystarbuck @JGunlock @carriesheffield @rikoruss31 @mkhammer @Riley_Gaines_ @data_republican @w_terrence @MattWalshBlog @ChristinaPushaw @SJohnston60 @Hebro_Steele @RepDonaldsPress @carolinedowney_ @jlawrencenc @BlueBoxDave @CGasparino @JenniferSey @LisaMarieBoothe @dagenmcdowell @megbasham @Camp4 @matt_vanswol @CBHeresy @SteaknShake @LarryOConnor @IWN @roddreher @SwipeWright @MikeCosper @ClayTravis @cvpayne @LizMacDonaldFOX @HarmeetKDhillon @carolmswain @MarioNawfal @kangminlee @crwiley1962 @realJennaEllis @jsolomonReports @greg_price11 7⃣ Aug. 18, 2025: "All the More" Rebrand Flops
The CEO and board dismiss all the warnings by investor Sardar Biglari and ditch "the cracker and the barrel' in Cracker Barrel, releasing a rebrand, called "All the More."
It flops -- as does the stock.
The CEO and board dismiss all the warnings by investor Sardar Biglari and ditch "the cracker and the barrel' in Cracker Barrel, releasing a rebrand, called "All the More."
It flops -- as does the stock.
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@CrackerBarrel @FoxNews @FoxBusiness @robbystarbuck @JGunlock @carriesheffield @rikoruss31 @mkhammer @Riley_Gaines_ @data_republican @w_terrence @MattWalshBlog @ChristinaPushaw @SJohnston60 @Hebro_Steele @RepDonaldsPress @carolinedowney_ @jlawrencenc @BlueBoxDave @CGasparino @JenniferSey @LisaMarieBoothe @dagenmcdowell @megbasham @Camp4 @matt_vanswol @CBHeresy @SteaknShake @LarryOConnor @IWN @roddreher @SwipeWright @MikeCosper @ClayTravis @cvpayne @LizMacDonaldFOX @HarmeetKDhillon @carolmswain @MarioNawfal @kangminlee @crwiley1962 @realJennaEllis @jsolomonReports @greg_price11 8⃣ Aug. 22, 2025: Calls to "Fire the CEO"
Cracker Barrel investor Sardar Biglari also owns @SteaknShake, which posts a message, mocking the rival's new logo and 3 words: "FIRE THE CEO."
Read the whole saga @FoxNews @FoxBusiness: foxbusiness.com/money/cracker-…
Cracker Barrel investor Sardar Biglari also owns @SteaknShake, which posts a message, mocking the rival's new logo and 3 words: "FIRE THE CEO."
Read the whole saga @FoxNews @FoxBusiness: foxbusiness.com/money/cracker-…
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@CrackerBarrel @FoxNews @FoxBusiness @robbystarbuck @JGunlock @carriesheffield @rikoruss31 @mkhammer @Riley_Gaines_ @data_republican @w_terrence @MattWalshBlog @ChristinaPushaw @SJohnston60 @Hebro_Steele @RepDonaldsPress @carolinedowney_ @jlawrencenc @BlueBoxDave @CGasparino @JenniferSey @LisaMarieBoothe @dagenmcdowell @megbasham @Camp4 @matt_vanswol @CBHeresy @SteaknShake @LarryOConnor @IWN @roddreher @SwipeWright @MikeCosper @ClayTravis @cvpayne @LizMacDonaldFOX @HarmeetKDhillon @carolmswain @MarioNawfal @kangminlee @crwiley1962 @realJennaEllis @jsolomonReports @greg_price11 Thank you for following the timeline with me. As a former Wall Street Journal reporter, I knew there was a story behind the headlines.
It's a tale of corporate myopia.
Please read and share our @FoxNews @FoxBusiness investigation.
foxbusiness.com/money/cracker-…
It's a tale of corporate myopia.
Please read and share our @FoxNews @FoxBusiness investigation.
foxbusiness.com/money/cracker-…
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@CrackerBarrel @FoxNews @FoxBusiness @robbystarbuck @JGunlock @carriesheffield @rikoruss31 @mkhammer @Riley_Gaines_ @data_republican @w_terrence @MattWalshBlog @ChristinaPushaw @SJohnston60 @Hebro_Steele @RepDonaldsPress @carolinedowney_ @jlawrencenc @BlueBoxDave @CGasparino @JenniferSey @LisaMarieBoothe @dagenmcdowell @megbasham @Camp4 @matt_vanswol @CBHeresy @SteaknShake @LarryOConnor @IWN @roddreher @SwipeWright @MikeCosper @ClayTravis @cvpayne @LizMacDonaldFOX @HarmeetKDhillon @carolmswain @MarioNawfal @kangminlee @crwiley1962 @realJennaEllis @jsolomonReports @greg_price11 And if you want every receipt I could find of Cracker Barrel's branding debacle, I assembled them in a "Tick Tock" on Substack.
Skim the timeline of Cracker Barrel going woke, then going broke.
Your pushback is in the timeline @robbystarbuck.
🔗Read: asrainvestigates.substack.com/p/tick-tock-gu…
Skim the timeline of Cracker Barrel going woke, then going broke.
Your pushback is in the timeline @robbystarbuck.
🔗Read: asrainvestigates.substack.com/p/tick-tock-gu…
