By DEE-ANN DURBIN

Cracker Barrel said Wednesday it expects lower sales and weaker customer traffic in the coming year as the controversy over its planned logo change continues to play out.

In a conference call with investors, Cracker Barrel said traffic at its restaurants was down 1% in early August, before it announced it was adopting a more simplified logo . The new logo dropped the image of an older man in overalls leaning on a barrel and removed the words “Old Country Store.”

But after the announcement on Aug. 18 and the outcry that followed from many longtime fans, restaurant traffic dropped 8%. Cracker Barrel said Wednesday that traffic will likely be down between 7% and 8% in the first quarter and could decline 4% to 7% for the full 2026 fiscal year.

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