Didn't think much of it other than a continuation of the great blanding.

Not good arguments. The old logo is confusing as well, I would at best guess it's a bar for heavy drinkers.

Anyway, americans and their first world problems

Outrage culture is so exhausting. This incident reminds me of the Cracker Barrel fans who collectively lost their shit when they started testing offering impossible sausage on the menu a few years ago.

That being said, the new logo does look like it was designed by an intern in high school using photoshop or illustrator for the first time.

Given that their main demographic is aging out, they had to do something. Grandma-tacky doesn't really resonate with younger folks. The stuff being sold wasn't even the original "old" stuff, just knockoffs. It's a so-so chain restaurant that has reasonable breakfasts and filling, somewhat bland food.

If it's so important for culture, they should receive grants.

I think lot of this brand analysis misses an important point… This change makes the real estate these locations occupy much more fungible. Instead of customized old-timey looking storefronts and dining spaces packed with knickknacks, by making the branding more bland these locations can be much more easily converted or sold to other businesses that also fit inside a grey/beige box and hang a roughly rectangular sign on the front of the building.

The days are numbered for boomer nostalgia based brands. One of these days those restaurants are going to be something else. PE deals years ago started the work of decoupling a stale old brand from the valuable real estate.

Who cares about selling millions of dollars less in bad food when you can access billions of dollars more in real estate value.

See also: https://www.nashvillepost.com/business/retail/cracker-barrel...