An Empty Barrel Makes The Most Noise, And In This Case, The Silence Behind The Noise Keeps Getting Worse

The saying “An empty barrel makes the loudest noise” is a variation of the more common proverb “Empty vessels make the most noise.” The proverb suggests that people with the least knowledge, wisdom, or substance tend to be the most talkative, attention-seeking, or boastful.

This perfectly describes the current CEO and management team of Cracker Barrel. Determined to prove that going woke means going broke, they decided to ignore the history and traditions loved by their customers to recreate the restaurant in their own image, despite the fact that no one wanted any of these changes.

Unfortunately, for the public, Cracker Barrel’s renovations ran deeper than the aesthetics of interior renovations and logo changes. However, it was those changes that drew attention to the firm, and what was discovered has enlightened the public to the darkness behind the visible woke exterior alterations.

The chain is currently under investigation by America First Legal, a non-profit organization founded by Stephen Miller, a prominent figure in the White House. The company is accused of following DEI hiring practices, prioritizing race and sexual orientation over merit.

Miller’s team submitted a complaint to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission earlier this year, alleging that Cracker Barrel’s employment practices discriminate against employees or potential employees based solely on their skin color or sex.

Cracker Barrel’s “Be Bold” initiative aims to “cultivate and develop Black leaders within the Cracker Barrel organization through allyship, mentorship, and education, creating a path to continued excellence,” as stated on the chain’s website.

Additionally, the HOLA Business Resource Group (BRG) seeks to promote Hispanic and Latino culture by focusing on hiring, developing, and retaining talent within Cracker Barrel. Other BRGs are focused on supporting LGBTQ individuals.

Besides conducting illegal hiring practices, the “new and improved” CEO and management team decided that some other changes needed to be made, not to benefit the public, but to fatten their wallets.

Yesterday, The New York Post reported that before the now-abandoned logo change last month, “corporate bean counters this year quietly forced the chain to serve up day-old biscuits and microwaved meatloaf.”

The biscuits served at the 650 Cracker Barrel locations are traditionally baked fresh each day. However, to save a few bucks, management decided that it would be better to make them the day before and freeze them, then reheat them.

The quality suffered, and according to sources within the company, the biscuits turned out “hard,” “rubbery,” and “like a rock.”

“They thought that we’d be faster and out sooner if we weren’t rolling out bread,” a cook with the chain told the Post.

“People want biscuits to be buttery and soft. The most common complaint we’ve gotten is that our biscuits are sometimes like a rock.”

Having victimized the biscuits, corporate put meatloaf in its crosshairs. Essentially, by doing the same thing, cooking the meatloaf the day before and microwaving it just before it’s served.

“Before, we cooked it in our oven, and the cook would cut it up still in the pan, which was in our steam line; it was fresher.

“The changes to how food is prepared were to account for the labor shortage in the kitchen.”

Bottom of Form

The changes were implemented last year after Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Felss Masino initiated cost-cutting measures, including reducing the number of prep cooks and decreasing the hours of other staff.

Masino, who became CEO in 2023, attracted attention in 2024 by stating that the chain was “not as relevant as we once were, “adding that “some of our recipes and processes haven’t evolved in decades.”

Which is exactly the point. Traditional recipes very often haven’t changed in decades for a reason. Changing staples of the menu like biscuits and meatloaf is a sacrilege to those who love tradition.

The woke left just doesn’t understand that not everything needs to be stripped down and whitewashed; for them, nothing is sacred, except enforcing their own will upon others.

One of the chain’s largest investors recognized the issue, stating that it was a “textbook trap of overspending on cosmetic remodeling.”

Sardar Biglari, who owns about five percent of the restaurant’s stock, said:

“The day Cracker Barrel opened, it was already old — its theme derived from the 1920s. I am concerned that not only will the remodel not work, but it could actually damage the brand further.”

Let’s face facts, at its peak, Cracker Barrel wasn’t for everyone, but it had established a niche of endearing supporters. Any restaurant chain is vulnerable to woke ideas, but one oriented with such a specific clientele was never going to be receptive to these changes.

In this case, Masino became the latest example of the left’s adherence to the “Peter Principle.” Hiring simpletons to enact changes that consider only their agenda, with no thought whatsoever given to those they serve.

What appeared at first to be a remodeling and logo change was only a distraction from the truth. Cracker Barrel was seeking an increase in revenue at the customer’s expense.

Illegal hiring practices and poor food quality were meant to be covered by the chaos over aesthetics.

An empty barrel does make the most noise, something Cracker Barrel management will realize soon enough.