Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Masino will step down as of August 9 and has hopefully been replaced by a CEO who does not hate Cracker Barrel and its customers and will not target kids for grooming.
“Following a robust and thoughtful search process, we are pleased to welcome David [Deno] as Cracker Barrel’s next CEO,” Independent Chairman of the Cracker Barrel Board Carl Berquist said in a statement Monday. “He brings decades of experience across the restaurant and retail industries, with a strong track record of leading businesses through growth and a demonstrated commitment to operational excellence, guest experience, and team member engagement.”
David Deno has been appointed to serve as the Cracker Barrel’s next Chief Executive Officer and will join the Board of Directors, both effective August 10, 2026. (Handout via Cracker Barrel)
“On behalf of the Board and the entire company, I want to thank Julie [Masino] for her leadership and commitment to Cracker Barrel,” Berquist continued. “We also appreciate her partnership to ensure a smooth leadership transition as we remain focused on the work underway to continue to serve our guests, support our employees, and execute our strategic priorities. We wish Julie all the best in her future endeavors.”
Masino will remain on board in an advisory capacity, but only for another month.
Last year, Masino was not only guilty of watering Cracker Barrel down into just another soulless, generic chain restaurant that looked like a Bed, Bath, and Beyond, she also had the beloved rural chain engage in outright child grooming:
On behalf of Cracker Barrel’s LGBTQ+ Alliance & DEIB Team, we want to celebrate YOU for being YOU. It is our greatest Mission to ensure that Pleasing People means “all people.” LGBTQ+ Pride Month each June is an important time to reflect on the Stonewall Riots that began on June 28, 1969, evoking activists to demand change for the LGBTQ+ community in America…
Along with ensuring educational resources and inclusivity practices are upheld every day, Cracker Barrel will also be returning to Nashville Pride and the Out & Equal Workplace Advocates Conference. There are many ways we encourage bringing your authentic self to work!
It was only after this obscene behavior became public that this sick grooming trash was taken down, and it only became public after Masino outed herself as the Kathleen Kennedy of chain restaurants — a woman given complete control over a brand and fanbase she obviously hated.
The most telling line in the Cracker Barrel press release is this: “Following a robust and thoughtful search process…”
Yeah, a process that likely started not long after the bottom fell out of Masino’s breathtakingly stupid management decisions.
Kathleen Kennedy and Julie Masino are both too stupid to grasp that a brand is a brand, and while all brands can be finessed and improved upon, the one thing you never-ever-ever do with a brand is anything that will alienate your base.
This is true in politics.
This is true with Star Wars.
This is true with Cracker Barrel.
Kathleen Kennedy obviously hated Star Wars, so she turned it into something she and her fellow woketard feminist wine-moms would enjoy. Julie Masino tried to do the same with Cracker Barrel. Both also embraced this gay nonsense that alienates Normal People, especially when it is aimed at little kids. Both were driven by their own toxic narcissism rather than common sense. Yes, they were so gosh-darned certain everyone is just like them.
Cracker Barrel likely course-corrected in time. Star Wars, however, is doornail dead.
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