At the heart of the changes was the removal of a man leaning against a barrel and the phrase "old country store" from the restaurant's logo, CNBC's Ali McCadden reports. Right-wing social media voices railed against the update, with one prominent conservative activist saying that the company would "learn that wokeness really doesn't pay."

Conservative critics saw the decision to remove the man in the logo, long known as Uncle Herschel, as an attempt by corporate executives to strip the chain of its history and character. That the CEO is a woman, Julie Felss Masino, only further fanned the outrage in some circles.

Cracker Barrel hosted a pop-up event in Manhattan that included line dancing and live country music as it faces criticism for its new simplified logo design.