A Tennessee Cracker Barrel waitress has unleashed a legal firestorm, accusing her white coworkers of hurling racial slurs while management turned a blind eye, as the Daily Mail reports. Roberta Mendez, a Black server since 2015, filed a federal lawsuit claiming relentless harassment, physical mistreatment, and wrongful termination. Her story paints a grim picture of a workplace allegedly steeped in bias, raising questions about corporate accountability.
Mendez, employed at a Nashville-area Cracker Barrel, alleges she endured a barrage of slurs like “burnt biscuit” and worse from white colleagues. The lawsuit claims she consistently outperformed expectations, yet faced worse treatment than her white peers. This isn’t just a personal grievance -- it’s a scathing indictment of a restaurant chain struggling to maintain its wholesome image.
The trouble began years ago, but Mendez’s complaints escalated in 2023 after reporting the abuse to managers, including general manager Jack Kinle. The manager, she claims, retaliated with a write-up instead of addressing her concerns. The message was clear: speaking up could cost you.
By August 2024, Mendez says her shift leader openly declared, “I don’t like Black people.” That kind of brazen hostility, if true, shatters any illusion of Cracker Barrel as a cozy, family-friendly diner. Yet, management allegedly did nothing, letting the toxicity fester.
Mendez also accuses the restaurant of segregating Black workers from their white counterparts. She claims physical altercations, including being pushed and hit, went unpunished. It’s hard to imagine a workplace more at odds with the chain’s folksy branding.
When Mendez took her grievances to human resources, she hit another wall. HR’s response? Simply advising her not to sign the retaliatory write-up from Kinle, with no follow-up action. That’s not problem-solving; it’s passing the buck.
In August 2024, Mendez filed another HR complaint, this time about broader mistreatment of Black employees. A month later, on Sept. 28, she was fired, supposedly for violating company policy. The timing smells more like retaliation than coincidence.
“Next, Cracker Barrel will file their answer to the complaint and discovery will proceed,” said Mendez’s attorney, Kyle Biesecker. He’s confident, adding, “We expect depositions to bear out many of the facts as alleged by Ms. Mendez.” If they do, Cracker Barrel’s in for a rough ride.
Mendez is fighting for her job back and full compensation for her losses. Her lawsuit doesn’t just seek justice for her -- it challenges a corporate culture that allegedly let prejudice run unchecked. This isn’t about one bad apple; it’s about a system that failed her.
Cracker Barrel’s woes don’t end with Mendez’s lawsuit. On Aug. 19, the chain unveiled a new logo, ditching its iconic old man and barrel for a minimalist design. The move erased decades of brand heritage, and customers weren’t having it.
The backlash was swift, costing Cracker Barrel nearly $100 million in a week. Critics slammed the redesign as a soulless betrayal of the chain’s rustic charm. It’s as if the company forgot what made it beloved in the first place.
CEO Julie Felss Masino tried to defend the change, claiming on August 21 that “people like what we’re doing.” Really? The plummeting stock price and customer outrage told a different story, exposing a disconnect between leadership and reality.
Masino doubled down, saying managers were clamoring for remodels, asking, “How can I get a remodel, when can I get a remodel?” But the public’s rejection was louder. By August 26, Cracker Barrel scrapped the new logo, admitting defeat.
“We thank our guests for sharing your voices,” the company said, promising the “old timer” logo would stay. Shares briefly spiked 2.3%, but the damage was done. The flip-flop only deepened skepticism about the chain’s direction.
Mendez’s lawsuit and the logo debacle together paint a company in crisis, fumbling both its internal culture and public image. Cracker Barrel’s attempt to modernize seems less about progress and more about losing its way. If these allegations hold, the chain’s bigger problem isn’t its logo -- it’s a workplace that allegedly let discrimination thrive unchecked.
