Julie Masino spent much of 2025 fighting for her job.
The CEO of Cracker Barrel last August proposed a new logo, one without the more-famous-than-we-thought figure of Herschel and a barrel. The result sparked one of the dumbest social media backlashes we’ve ever seen, driven by a combination of bots, mindless social media followers and people with a clear agenda.
That included Steak n Shake, owned by longtime Cracker Barrel nemesis Sardar Biglari, which called for Masino’s firing on both billboards and hats. And then Biglari launched his eighth—eighth!—proxy fight against the company, seeking two seats on that board, including Masino’s.
Masino won that fight, though her fellow board member Gilbert Davila did not.
Months later, however, Cracker Barrel decided to make a change. The company on Monday announced that Masino is stepping down and will be replaced by David Deno. The company hired Deno “following a robust and thoughtful search process,” saying that “he brings decades of experience across the restaurant and retail industries.”
It’s difficult to see which decision is the more head-scratching one: Getting rid of Masino now or deciding that Deno is the one for the job.
Let’s start with Masino. Cracker Barrel after the controversy erupted abandoned many of the company’s revitalization plans, including remodels and, of course, the logo. It also sold Maple Street Biscuit Company, reversing a decision made by Masino’s predecessor.
The company had been showing some progress of late. While same-store sales remain down, they are recovering more quickly than anticipated. So have profits as the company shed costs to make up for lost sales. Cracker Barrel’s stock has more than doubled so far this year, regaining most of the valuation lost during last year’s logo blowup.
So why make this change now, months after the company’s shareholders voted to keep her on the board?
Meanwhile, Cracker Barrel is replacing Masino with a CEO who retired two years ago.
Deno led Bloomin’ Brands from 2019 through 2024. When he left, I was told — rather directly — that he was retiring because he was about to turn 67 and it was time.
Deno’s track record at Bloomin’ hardly stood out. The company’s stock fell 8% during his tenure.
By contrast, stock in Texas Roadhouse more than tripled over that period. And stock in fellow casual-dining chain operator Darden Restaurants rose by about 90%.
Outback Streakhouse, Bloomin’ Brands’ flagship concept, grew sales by just 0.3% between 2019 and the end of 2024, according to data from Restaurant Business sister company Technomic.
By contrast, system sales grew 81% at Texas Roadhouse and 57% at the Darden-owned LongHorn Steakhouse. At a time when consumers were flocking to steak chains for celebratory occasions, even in the face of rising prices, Outback lost share. The company’s share of casual-dining steak sales fell to 18.5% in 2025 from 24.9% in 2021.
None of this is to say necessarily that Deno can’t devise a plan for Cracker Barrel that gets it into growth mode. He might have more leeway to remodel restaurants and make changes that Masino in the aftermath of the logo fiasco could not.
But it’s difficult to ignore the symbolism of a company opting to replace a female, Gen X chief executive with a male CEO who retired two years earlier. This, from a chain that has spent years working feverishly, and often unsuccessfully, to break free from its image as a tired brand with an aging customer base.