Good morning, CFOs. Cracker Barrel reverses course on restaurant remodels; Microsoft cracks down on work speech and limits remote work; plus, revised job numbers show significantly weaker labor picture.

When I reported on Cracker Barrel’s restaurant remodels earlier this year, first in May and then in June, it was clear that some missed the country charm.

Now, after receiving pushback from customers, the chain is halting remodeling plans that called for decluttering and removing much of the homespun decor that adorned its restaurants.

“The vintage American you love will always be here—the rocking chairs on the porch, our fireplaces and peg games, unique treasures in our gift shop and antiques pulled straight from our warehouse in Lebanon, Tennessee,” Cracker Barrel said in an announcement titled “We hear you.”

“We want you to have a warm and welcoming space for friends and family to gather and enjoy our craveable food and country hospitality,” the company said.

Longtime fans of the restaurant chain and its old-timey country charm spent weeks lamenting its modern glow up that decluttered the space and let in more light.

“It’s because people have an emotional connection with the brand,” Cracker Barrel Chief Executive Julie Felss Masino said in June of the initial negative feedback. “People’s immediate reaction to things is like, ‘Oh this isn’t the way it was,’” but they tend to come around, she added.

That didn’t happen. Instead of embracing the revamped space with fewer antiques and new menu items, changes to Cracker Barrel’s logo sparked an all-out political firestorm. Online commentators and some customers accused the company of sanitizing its image and criticized its workplace policies around diversity, equity and inclusion. Last month the restaurant chain said it would reverse course and keep its “Old Timer” logo, which dates back to 1977.

📆 Earnings

• Chewy

📈 Economic Indicators

The BLS releases the producer price index for August.

Microsoft has made changes to its internal communication channels and building security measures following a protest in which current and former workers occupied a top executive’s office.

The company has shut down an internal communication channel used by employees to question senior executives and discuss hot-button societal issues, according to an internal post reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. It has also restricted employees’ ability to enter certain buildings on its Redmond, Wash., campus, according to people familiar with the matter. On Tuesday, the company also told employees they will need to report to an office three days a week.

• The Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to quickly hear the Trump administration’s bid to save its sweeping global tariffs, setting the stage for a final ruling on a cornerstone of the president’s economic agenda.
• U.S. stocks crawled to a new record on Tuesday after the latest government report on the weakening labor market raised hopes that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates more aggressively.

📰 Other headlines

• Apple Releases Thinner ‘iPhone Air,’ Seeking to Boost Upgrades With New Design
• Exclusive: OpenAI Executives Rattled by Campaigns to Derail For-Profit Restructuring
• Inflation Erased U.S. Income Gains Last Year
• EIA Sees Consumers Paying Less for Gasoline and Driving More in 2026
• Epstein Once Listed Goldman’s General Counsel as an Executor on His Will
• Volkswagen to Invest $1.2 Billion in Artificial Intelligence by 2030
• Anglo American, Teck to Merge Into $53 Billion Copper Giant

📈Earnings wrapup

• Oracle’s Backlog Swells With Big Customer Deals
• GameStop Sales, Profit Rise on Collectibles and Hardware Growth
• DSW Owner Notes Improving Sales Trends But Keeps Outlook on Hold

Yum Brands, the Louisville, Ky.-based operator of KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, appointed Ranjith Roy as its new chief financial officer. Roy, who joined the company in May 2024 as chief strategy officer and treasurer, will succeed Chris Turner as finance chief on Oct. 1, when Turner steps into his new post as chief executive, the company said. Yum in June designated Turner to succeed David Gibbs, who in March said he would retire after 37 years at the company, including the last six as CEO.

—Colin Kellaher contributed to today’s Ledger.

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