re: The Cracker Barrel controversy is only tangentially about politics or "wokeness"

I don't own any of the CBRL stock, but I would be fricking furious if I had a stake in that shite.

Target/Bud-Lite/Ben/Jerry's all of this information was and is available for study before you make a branding move?

What consulting group advised them that this was the right decision? If any of my stocks belong to this group, I'm dumping them as soon as possible.

Preaching to the choir, I am a diehard Buick man.

quote:

---

It's not like they put Harriet Tubman on the logo

---

Call me crazy but that would be better.

They basically turned it into another Denny's, Bob Evans, IHOP, etc. Removed all the Mom and Pop southern charm and made it just another sterile food slinger. Good luck, you'll need it.

Everybody is looking down the road, not in the short term.

quote:

---

I know people are not going to want to hear this because they're stirred up, and I'll probably get downvoted all to hell but I don't give a s**t.

And I will concede that there is no doubt ... none ... about where that geeky looking CEO swings politically.

But this is more about the compulsion of marketing people to chase the young like a bum in the gutter in the Bowery in NYC chases Ripple or crack more than anything else.

You can tell by my posting handle I used to work in newspapers. I managed by having out of body experiences and swallowing my tongue and pride to make it to an advanced age in a dying trade (it's not a profession) until I was in a position to tell the huge company I worked for at the end (If you know anything about huge newspaper companies, you know the one I'm talking about and they're satanically evil) to get F'd and leave on my own terms.

I sat through corporate meetings where the words "we're not interested in an audience outside the 18 to 49 age group" were literally spoken. It didn't matter how loyal the customers above that age group had been, it didn't matter how much money the customers above that age group had to spend, if you were not 18 to 49 they were not interested in you, and while they might not try to deliberately run you off, they were not going to do anything or provide anything that you might be remotely interested in, which is essentially running you off.

The attitude was, "If you cater to those people, you will die with them."

I think that, more than anything, is what's going on here. That's what's going on with the rule changes in sports, too, IMO, the push toward expanded playoffs and NIL and all that crap, to get a young audience excited with bells and whistles and run the traditionalists off rather than "die with them."

The problem is Cracker Barrel is what it is. It's tradition, it's an old clientele going in and looking at things that remind them of the past and eating things their doctors don't want them to eat. You can't sell that s**t to yuppies eating avocado toast, but these idiots will destroy the company trying rather than have it associated with old folks.

---

Excellent post, and I agree about college sports as well.

I turn 55 next month. College sports are real close to losing me as a customer. Real close.

And, as you say, they don't seem to care.

But if true, that's even more short sighted than the restaurant abandoning the older crowd.

Cracker Barrel exists at a price point that even young people can afford, and a meal costs the same whether an 18 year old or an 81 year old buys it.

College sports still depends a lot on donations. More than ever, now with the NIL. How many 18 year olds have enough disposable income to write a check for $10,000 a season to support their college team (on top of tickets, travel, tailgate, etc?)

Not to mention, people are living longer than they were when I was growing up. By eight years on average. And it's not just how much longer people are living, but how much longer people are staying active. When I was a kid someone who was 65-70 years old, more likely than not, was OLD. They looked old, acted old, didn't get out much, etc., etc.

I know an 81 year old now who still waterskis.

Anyway, the point being that you're forgoing a chunk of the public that is just as interested in being your customer and in 2025 is roughly equivalent in numbers, and has MORE money.

It's a dumb thing to do. You are right on point.

These are the same people who helped NASCAR explode, then moved on to the next shiny object

Buick LeSabre with the 3.8 was legit

My mechanic told me if you kept the oil changed as you were supposed to in that 3.8 Buick the engine was indestructible. Something else might tear up (the tranny finally did on my LeSabre), but the engine wouldn't.