Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (CBRL) saw its stock plummet by 5.02% in Friday's trading session, as the company faces a double whammy of investor dissatisfaction and customer pushback. The sharp decline comes in the wake of recent rebranding efforts that have sparked controversy and led to a significant drop in customer traffic.

Investor Sardar Biglari, who holds a 2.9% stake in Cracker Barrel through his investment funds, filed a securities filing urging shareholders to withhold votes for the re-election of CEO Julie Masino and director Gilbert Davila at the upcoming annual meeting. Biglari criticized the company's recent rebranding attempts as a "fiasco" and accused Masino's tenure of being marked by "repeated and highly publicized missteps, from misguided rebranding efforts to ill-fated 'transformation' initiatives."

Adding to the company's woes, Benchmark analyst Todd Brooks reported that customer pushback against Cracker Barrel's mid-August logo change and branding update has resulted in a sharp decline in traffic. The analyst noted that traffic trends have fallen from being down 1% in the first half of the year to currently being down 8%. This dramatic shift has forced the company to consider additional marketing and discounting efforts to win back disgruntled customers or attract new ones. The challenge now lies in determining how long this traffic loss will persist, even after the company's quick reversal to embrace its nostalgic branding and restaurant design.