Cracker Barrel, one of America’s oldest chain restaurants based out of Lebanon, Tennessee, surprised everyone with a message of support for Pride Month on their Instagram.
In the caption, the restaurant said, “We are excited to celebrate Pride Month with our employees and guests. Everyone is welcome at our table (and our [rainbow flag] rocker). Happy Pride!”
The comments were met with both support and shock, although the shockwaves went further than the initial comments.
The company, which openly discriminated against its gay employees in the 1990s, has worked toward moves of inclusivity and diversity over the past decade, but its support of the LGBTQ+ community isn’t appreciated by everyone.
On Twitter, the Texas Family Project, whose mission is to “empower the public and survivors of domestic and dating violence,” tweeted out their displeasure in Cracker Barrel’s “fall,” saying, “A once family-friendly establishment has caved to the mob.”
The tweet includes a screenshot from Cracker Barrel’s Pride page, where the restaurant chain encourages diversity and wants “to celebrate YOU for being YOU.” They added that their greatest mission was to ensure that “pleasing people” meant “all people,” which right-wingers clearly can’t get behind.
Politico reporter Natalie Allison also tweeted, “Went to bed and woke up thinking about how Cracker Barrel has fallen,” adding, “I haven’t laughed this much in a while. I just can’t stop thinking about how the only restaurant in the world where you can buy devotional books and CDs of Randy Travis gospel covers has now gone woke.”
Well, Ms. Allison, we agree with you on one front: This is both hilarious and ridiculous that people like you would actually lose sleep over this, and as the conservatives turn to boycott Cracker Barrel, we’ll happily take their seats.