Julie Masino Named CEO of Cracker Barrel: From Fast Food Beginnings to Restaurant Leadership

Julie Masino just landed one of the biggest jobs in the restaurant business. She's taking over as CEO of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, and honestly, it's a pretty big deal. With more than three decades of experience turning around major food chains and making them relevant again, she's exactly the kind of leader this iconic American brand needs right now.

Early Career: CEO of Cracker Barrel's Journey in Fast Food

Julie Masino didn't start at the top—nobody does. Her first real paycheck came from working at Wendy's back in the early 1990s. She was doing the kind of work most people in the restaurant industry start with: learning the ropes, dealing with customers, managing teams, and figuring out what actually makes a restaurant run smoothly. The money wasn't much back then, just standard entry-level restaurant wages, but what she learned was worth way more than what she was making. Those early years taught her everything about the business from the ground up.

Building Her Restaurant Empire: From Taco Bell to Digital Innovation

Things really took off when Masino joined Yum! Brands. She spent over 20 years there, and that's where she became a serious player in the industry. At Taco Bell, she climbed all the way up to Chief Operating Officer and eventually President of Taco Bell North America. By that point, she was pulling in millions annually—we're talking a multi-million dollar salary plus bonuses. But she wasn't just collecting a paycheck. She completely transformed how Taco Bell did business, pushing hard on mobile ordering and delivery way before it became the norm everywhere. The results spoke for themselves: same-store sales went up, the brand expanded like crazy, and customers actually liked the changes. Later on, she became President of Yum! Brands' entire US operation, making somewhere between $2-3 million in base salary alone, not counting performance bonuses.

Peak Success: Leading Tatte Bakery & Cafe

In 2022, Masino took on what might've been her toughest challenge yet: CEO of Tatte Bakery & Cafe. This Boston-based chain is nothing like Taco Bell—it's all about upscale European-style pastries and coffee, the kind of place where people hang out for hours. The company, owned by Panera's parent, was growing fast, and they needed someone who could scale it up without losing what made it special. As CEO of Cracker Barrel's predecessor role, she was making around $3-5 million total compensation. Her job was tricky: take this artisanal brand and expand it without turning it into just another cookie-cutter cafe chain. She had to keep that authentic vibe while opening new locations and tightening up operations.

Current Position and Earnings as CEO of Cracker Barrel

Now she's running Cracker Barrel, and the stakes are even higher. While the company hasn't spelled out exactly what she's making, CEOs of publicly-traded restaurant chains this size typically pull in somewhere between $5-8 million a year when you add up salary, bonuses, and stock options. Cracker Barrel isn't small potatoes—they've got over 660 locations in 45 states and bring in more than $3 billion in revenue annually. But the brand's been struggling to connect with younger diners while keeping its older, loyal customers happy. That's the challenge Masino's walking into, and honestly, it's not an easy one.

Julie Masino's Key Success Principles

The new CEO of Cracker Barrel has some pretty clear ideas about what it takes to succeed in this business. First off, she's big on technology. She doesn't see digital tools as something that ruins the dining experience—she thinks they make it better. Understanding your customers and actually evolving with them instead of ignoring what they want? That's non-negotiable for her. She also believes great ideas can come from anyone in the company, not just executives in boardrooms. One thing she's really passionate about is balancing the old with the new. You can't just throw away what made a brand successful in the first place, but you also can't be so stuck in the past that you become irrelevant. And maybe most importantly, she thinks authenticity is everything. Customers aren't stupid—they can tell when you're being real versus when you're just trying to follow whatever trend is hot right now. Real, lasting success comes from staying true to who you are while being smart enough to adapt when you need to.