A diner at a Cracker Barrel restaurant in Connecticut remarked on the decorations, pointing out that there looked to be “nooses on the ceiling.” The restaurant business has subsequently apologized for the decorations.
Cracker Barrel subsequently claimed that the “noose” was a wrapped string linked to décor pieces, but it was “utterly inappropriate” that personnel failed to see that they seemed like nooses before the decorations were displayed.
Alfonso Robinson, a Twitter user, shared photos of the decorations with the caption: “Someone at Cracker Barrel in East Windsor needs to explain why there are nooses on the ceiling.”
Someone at Cracker Barrel in East Windsor need to explain why there are nooses on the ceiling… #notagoodlook pic.twitter.com/yitLFvQOtP
— Alfonso Robinson (@ctblogger) November 9, 2020
The same evening, Cracker Barrel reacted to the tweet, noting that the “noose” adornment was “an original wrapped cord” from an “antique soldering iron” on display at the East Windsor restaurant.
According to the eatery, the item has subsequently been removed.
PowerUp-Manchester organizer Keren Prescott claimed activists came to the restaurant and had a “positive” and “productive” talk with restaurant manager Mark Smith.
Smith said that the noose-like chain had been on display for 22 years, but no one had seen it until last week. He asked Prescott to look around the restaurant.
We’re sorry this happened. This antique electric soldering iron has an original wrapped cord that should not have been displayed. We have removed the item from our East Windsor store. Many thanks to the guest who notified us of this so that we could correct our error.
— Cracker Barrel (@CrackerBarrel) November 10, 2020
At one point, Prescott told the manager said, ‘You might notice things that I don’t,’ which I really appreciated because, as a white man, he might not view certain things the same way a black person would.”
A number of Twitter users have asked Cracker Barrel to undertake a review of all the decorations at company stores, or to provide a schedule for the study.
They work hard to create a culture of hospitality that is welcoming, courteous, and inclusive to everyone who walks through their doors, Cracker Barrel said in a statement. While some of the old décor in their locations may be evocative of a bygone era, their inclusive culture is firmly rooted in the present.
As previously stated, the décor item in their East Windsor store—an antique soldering iron with an original wrapped cord—should have been noticed and corrected before it was ever displayed, and it has since been eliminated. They are thankful to the visitor for pointing it out to them so that they could remedy their error.
