It may be the last shoe to drop in the Cracker Barrel logo mess. The Tennessee-based chain on Thursday said it has parted ways with Prophet, the marketing firm responsible for its revamp—including the now-abandoned logo that swapped out the familiar "Old Timer" in overalls for a bare-bones wordmark. CNN reports the companies began working together just seven months ago in what the Wall Street Journal reports was to be a "a three-year strategic plan to update its brand."
The new design, rolled out in August, quickly found itself in the culture-war crosshairs, with critics bemoaning the loss of country flair. Cracker Barrel reverted to its classic logo in late August and put a restaurant redesign that was being tested in four locations on ice shortly after. The Journal reports Cracker Barrel is also tweaking its leadership structure, doing away with the position of chief restaurant and retail operations officer that had been held by Cammie Spillyards-Schaefer, who will exit the company. CNN reports Matt Benton, Cracker Barrel's vice president of marketing, will also depart. Thomas Yun, credited with developing some of Cracker Barrel's top-performing new dishes, will return and replace Benton.