Flashback Friday Remembers Hating Cracker Barrel, and We Still Can

Okay, full disclosure time. Yer boy Hank here actually kinda loves the food at Cracker Barrel. I KNOW! I KNOW! It's fatty, salty goodness choked down with a healthy dollop of homophobia. Hey, to be fair, I didn't know that other part until later, after the family had already visited a few on road trips and I eagerly partook of copious amounts of taters and gravy, biscuits and fried chicken, mac-n-cheese, green beans swimming in buttery, bacony sauce, and peach cobbler. I'm a Southern boy at heart. Okay, now I'm hungry. To be even more fair, the place and its country vibe additionally fueled my blue-collar kink. Even as a kid, men in jeans and dirty plaid shirts and worn hands turned me on, so here was a brand I found aesthetically pleasing, to put it mildly. And it tasted good!

Now I'm sure you've all heard by now about the butthurt crazy rage when Cracker Barrel redesigned its old logo, removing the old white guy, and responded in kind, of course, by reinstating said old white guy to appease the MAGA base. Because nothing screams "snowflake" like losing your goddamn mind over a company logo minus the old white guy.

More egregious, though, is what The Advocate has recently reported. The company has removed its link to its LGBTQ+ and DEI  web page, which touted its claims towards a more diverse and welcoming workplace.

*cue record scratch sound*

Wait, hold up. Cracker Barrel had a page dedicated to LGBTQ+ diversity, among other things? Cracker Barrel?! If you're wondering why this is so surprising, it's because Cracker Barrel was once known quite legitimately in the gay community as being virulently anti-gay! The same company that has grown to make connections with sponsorship money for Nashville Pride and Evansville, IN's River City Pride, as well as with Human Rights Campaign and other organisations, was "too woke" for the likes of one right-wing influencer (I won't name them for fear of elevating their voices) who said "A conservative can’t give their money to Cracker Barrel. A Christian cannot give their money to Cracker Barrel, and so we won’t.” The initial rebranding to attract younger customers was deemed a violation and a further attack on middle American values. It also resulted in a 12% stock dip, losing them millions. Now that's what I call "triggered!"

You see, back in 1991, Cracker Barrel wrote into their official hiring and work requirements blatant homophobia. They made it a policy that stores were to go through and fire any known queer employees “whose sexual preferences fail to demonstrate normal heterosexual values." Cheryl Summerville, a cook in a Georgia restaurant, whose pink slip literally said "The employee is being terminated for being gay" because a national cause céleb of sorts, appearing on Oprah and 20/20. Remember that back then, most folks, not even Ms. Summerville, were aware that it was actually legal to fire someone just for being gay. In fact, it was only in Wisconsin where it wasn't legal to do so!

Ms. Summerville was one of three personal stories depicted in the 1997 documentary Out At Work.

Massive protests, including arrests and threats of violence, took place at Cracker Barrel locations. In August 1991, 150 protesters took over the tables at the restaurant's flagship location in Lebanon, TN. But how long and how effective could such protests sustain themselves? Queer Nation member Carl R. Owens had an idea. "Buy Cracker Barrel." He formed a financial response that encouraged thousands of queers and allies to purchase one share of Cracker Barrel stock, messing with their ownership base. As The Advocate reports, by 1993 the company had doubled its shareholder base, causing a lot of problems when it came to voting on company issues. A decade later, in 2002, the company added "sexual orientation" to its nondiscrimination policy.

Also, keep in mind that workers' protections for queer people on a federal level have only been around for five years. FIVE! Quite frankly, I was a bit shocked to hear that Cracker Barrel actually ever had a queer and DEI webpage to begin with! That they bent the knee to Glorious Orange Leader and his oh so easily enflamed minions is not surprising at all. This recent issue is a great time to remind ourselves of our not-so-distant history.

Now, enjoy some AI-generated humor at their expense.

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