Who is the Owner of Cracker Barrel?

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store is a publicly traded company with no controlling owner — institutional investors hold more than 94% of shares. But 2026 brought a very public fight over who should be running it, after a rebrand attempt triggered one of the more dramatic corporate governance battles in recent restaurant industry history.

CEO Julie Felss Masino, appointed in 2023 to modernize the brand and appeal to younger guests, became the target of activist investor Sardar Biglari, who owns about 3% of Cracker Barrel through his company Biglari Holdings. Biglari campaigned to remove both Masino and board member Gilbert Davila, arguing the company’s rebranding effort — including a simplified logo that drew intense public backlash — had destroyed roughly $1.2 billion in shareholder value. At the November 20, 2026 annual meeting, shareholders voted to keep Masino and all ten board-recommended nominees, defeating Biglari’s removal campaign. Davila, however, resigned the same day after preliminary results showed shareholders rejecting his reelection, with proxy advisory firms ISS and Glass Lewis having flagged the logo controversy as a governance failure tied to his advertising oversight role.

Quick Facts

Ownership History

Key Ownership Highlights

• As a widely held public company, Cracker Barrel has no single controlling shareholder — which is exactly what made Sardar Biglari’s roughly 3% stake enough to force a genuine, high-profile proxy fight.
• The 2026 vote produced a split outcome: shareholders backed the CEO but effectively punished the board member most closely tied to the rebrand’s advertising oversight, showing nuanced rather than blanket support for management.
• Biglari’s estimate that the rebrand destroyed $1.2 billion in shareholder value became the central rallying point of the campaign, regardless of the ultimate vote outcome.

FAQ

Who owns Cracker Barrel?

No single owner — Cracker Barrel is a public company with institutional investors holding more than 94% of shares.

Did Cracker Barrel’s CEO get fired in 2026?

No. Despite an activist investor campaign to remove her following a controversial rebrand, shareholders voted on November 20, 2026 to keep CEO Julie Felss Masino and the full board slate, though board member Gilbert Davila resigned after losing his own reelection vote.