Crackers

  The latest upset I'm seeing is about the restaurant chain Cracker Barrel changing its' logo and the design of their buildings. I have eaten there a few times and enjoyed the food and atmosphere. It did remind me of being at a theme park, only without the rides. I'm old, but not so old that I was ever in a country store with an actual cracker barrel. I'm not that country I suppose but I've seen that in the movies. The menu I found to be normal American food, good sized portions and the food not too heavily seasoned. I did enjoy looking at all those things they have on the walls, old tools, gadgets and whatever. The country store section was full of Americana as well. 

  But now apparently the company has hired a new CEO and are changing the branding. I had heard in the past a few murmurs that Cracker barrel was a racist thing and some of their decorations were offensive. I wasn't really listening all that close and so don't know exactly what the problem were. Before I had ever set foot in a cracker barrel restaurant I was was expecting a "country" feel to the place. I knew, before ever looking at the menu, that they weren't serving soul food. I was attracted by the rocking chairs on the porch, the barrels with the checkers sets and the whole setting. The whole deal was an amusement. Of course I forget that I'm just an old white guy and don't see the racism involved with all of that. And now, I've heard that the whole thing is anti-gay as well. 

  So the restaurant has decided to remodel and rebrand much like McDonalds has over time. Burger king ditched the King, long before no kings day, but still hand out a paper crown. The cracker barrel has been removed from the logo, well everything except the name has been removed, so as not to offend I suppose. Well, the color looks like cheddar cheese and I for one am offended, what about white American cheese or blue cheese, why aren't they represented! And besides cracker barrels were brown in color, made of wood. Why not use a barrel as the logo. Or is that supposed to be a barrel lying on its' side? To be honest, I have never given any of that much thought, it's systemic!

  I had read where cracker barrel has lost 100 million dollars in stock value. Okay, if you say so. I also heard they have changed the menu. Has the cracker barrel I know and loved been replaced for a cheap imitator? The fact is I have never loved a restaurant, I simply enjoyed them. If they have decided to change it up, that's on them. Will I protest, boycott and refuse to go there? Most likely, no. If the mood strikes and I want to go to the cracker barrel and check it out I certainly will. If it has changed that much and I don't like it, I won't go back. That's how my boycotting works anyway. Granted I'm old and old people don't like changes but change happens anyway.

  That's the thing about all this social media though. It's a way to keep stirring the pot, sharing what we used to call, gossip. Today we hear about being informed, enlightened and raising awareness as the function of social media. Well 90% of the time it is just gossip and sometimes that is called misinformation. What us old people called a lie. It was, and remains, just stuff that people make up because they are bored or what to feel important. If you can tell a secret, you're important aren't you? Yes, you are, for that moment. First I heard that cracker barrel was just racist and now they are also homophobic! I won't be surprised to learn they bought their potatoes on Amazon. 

  I just find the whole thing amusing. A restaurant that had a theme based on the country store. It's like a tale of the old west. Did such places ever really exist? Yes they probably did, the corner store in more modern days, 7-11 or Royal Farms stores today. Memories are a funny thing when it comes to all of that. I remember going to the 5&10, that's what it was called. That store had wooden floors that creaked, wooden bins down the walls and in the aisles, and a donut machine making fresh donuts right next to the checkout counter. 

  That's what a 5&10 looks like. My Christmas tree had glass ornaments and tinsel with those big lights! That's what Christmas trees look like. I took my car to the garage to get fixed. One bay with a lift in it, a grease pit in the other bay, and a hose that rang a bell when you ran over it, or stomped on it to mess with the attendant. Think of the garage in Mayberry that Goober worked at. That's a garage. The cracker barrel restaurant. It'll look like I remember it and the food will taste the way I remember it. Well I remember when McDonalds had the golden arches and you ordered at a walk up window. Everything was better then. The burgers, fries and shakes were the best! Now I still stop by the McCafe for a latte and a vegetable burger every once in a while. Things change. Luckily Cracker Jack hasn't been found offensive, although there really should be a Cracker Jill or non-binary Jack I suppose. 

                                                                                     

      This is how I will remember that restaurant. That's the cracker barrel.