Restaurant chains across the U.S. have been under pressure from weaker guest traffic, higher operating costs, and increasingly vocal shareholders. At Cracker Barrel, that pressure culminated on July 27, when the Lebanon, Tennessee-based company announced that CEO Julie Masino will step down next month. Her exit follows months of sliding sales, investor scrutiny, and continued blowback from a branding controversy that kept the company in the political spotlight.
Cracker Barrel confirmed a CEO change effective August 10
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store said July 27 that Julie Masino will step down as chief executive officer and as a member of the board, with former Bloomin’ Brands CEO David Deno set to take over on August 10, according to the company’s announcement. Cracker Barrel also said Masino will remain in an advisory role through October 9. The company operates about 660 company-owned Cracker Barrel locations across 43 states, giving the leadership change national significance for one of the country’s largest full-service dining chains.
The timing came just weeks after Cracker Barrel reported third-quarter fiscal 2026 results showing continued strain in the core business. In that June 9 earnings release, the company said quarterly revenue fell to $797.4 million from $821.1 million a year earlier. Same-store restaurant sales also declined, and outside reports including the Associated Press and Reuters noted that restaurant traffic remained under pressure during Masino’s tenure.
Masino, a former Taco Bell and Starbucks executive, had led the company since 2023. Her departure is not framed by Cracker Barrel as a termination, but the sequence of events is notable: the company had recently sold real estate tied to 26 stores, divested Maple Street Biscuit Company, and announced the closure of the remaining 16 Maple Street locations as part of a broader profitability push. Those moves signaled a board and management team focused on stabilizing margins and simplifying the business ahead of the CEO handoff.
The change is centered in Tennessee, but affects a national chain
Cracker Barrel’s headquarters are in Lebanon, Tennessee, and the company’s official succession announcement was issued from there. That makes Middle Tennessee the center of the leadership transition, even though no restaurant closures were announced as part of Masino’s exit. The company has not released a list of specific Tennessee stores tied to any operational changes stemming from the CEO transition, and it has not said that any particular city or region will see staffing changes because of the move.
What is confirmed is that Cracker Barrel’s recent restructuring reached beyond the executive suite. On July 20, the company said it had completed a sale-leaseback transaction involving 26 Cracker Barrel stores and had divested Maple Street Biscuit Company. Cracker Barrel did not publicly identify the cities or states of those 26 stores in that announcement, and it did not release a comprehensive city-by-city list of the remaining 16 Maple Street locations it said would close.
For diners, that means the immediate impact is more about corporate direction than about confirmed local restaurant changes. Tennessee remains the company’s base of operations, but the available public disclosures do not show a Tennessee-only restructuring tied directly to Masino’s departure. Customers should instead expect continuity in the short term, with the same brand footprint still in place while the new CEO takes over.
Declining traffic, investor pressure, and brand controversy set the stage
Cracker Barrel did not publicly say one single issue forced Masino out, but the company’s own filings and outside reporting point to several overlapping pressures. In its June 9 earnings release, Cracker Barrel cited risks tied to inflation in commodities, ingredients, transportation, distribution, and labor, along with competitive pressures and weaker discretionary spending. The same filing showed year-over-year revenue declines and acknowledged ongoing challenges affecting restaurant performance.
At the same time, Masino faced a prolonged battle with activist investor Sardar Biglari, who had urged shareholders to vote against her board re-election and argued that the company had alienated core customers. That investor fight came after Cracker Barrel’s 2025 logo redesign drew swift backlash, including criticism amplified by national political figures. Reuters, the Associated Press, and other national outlets tied Masino’s departure to the continuing fallout from that episode, even as the company had begun narrowing its focus back to the core Cracker Barrel business.
For customers, the practical takeaway is that Cracker Barrel has presented the change as a succession move, not a shutdown announcement. The company said Deno will assume the CEO role on August 10, and recent company statements have emphasized profitability, debt reduction, and renewed focus on the main Cracker Barrel brand. As of now, that is the clearest signal of what diners and employees should expect next.