• by Tanya Gazdik , October 3, 2025

When all else fails, kill the messenger. 

Cracker Barrel has fired Prophet, the design firm it hired just seven months ago that created the now-scrapped makeover that the restaurant’s CMO at one point defended vigorously. 

“Prophet was also assisting with restaurant redesigns,” according to CNN Business. “Those were 'suspended' after they were rolled out at four of its 660 locations. The panned refresh removed the traditional dark woods and many of the trademark tchotchkes that lined the walls. In their place, Cracker Barrel installed a more modern decor with a mostly white interior.”

“While Cracker Barrel did not explicitly state the reasoning behind the decision, it comes weeks after the restaurant chain announced a change to its logo, sparking online debate and even drumming up comments from President Donald Trump. But after much debate, the restaurant chain put the logo debate to bed and reverted to its traditional logo,” according to USA Today. 

The restaurant chain also says it will streamline its leadership team.

“The restaurant operator also said that it had eliminated the role of senior vice president and chief restaurant and retail operations officer,” according to Marketwatch. “Those duties had been held by Cammie Spillyards-Schaefer. Thomas Yun, it said, would return to the company as vice president of menu strategy and innovation, replacing Matthew Banton. Yun had developed some of Cracker Barrel’s more successful menu items in recent years.”

Cracker Barrel CMO Sarah Moore has gone quiet since originally defending the changes in statements to Adweek and to AdAge on Aug. 22.  She is still listed in Cracker Barrel’s management page in the Investors section of its website.