Cracker Barrel puts ‘Duck Dynasty’ products back on shelves after outcry #ourCOG

The Cracker Barrel restaurant chain, two days after removing “Duck Dynasty”-related products from its shelves, said Sunday it was putting them back – and apologized to fans of the reality series.

Cracker Barrel began yanking Duck Dynasty-related items from its stores on Friday in the wake of patriarch Phil Robertson’s inflammatory comments to GQ magazine about gays and blacks, saying it didn’t want to offend fans of the A&E hit reality series. The move had just opposite effect, the company said on its Facebook page Sunday.

“You flat out told us we were wrong. We listened. Today, we are putting all our Duck Dynasty products back in our stores. And, we apologize for offending you.”

The controversy has been raging since the comments by Robertson, who has been suspended by A&E, came to light. On one side are Christian conservatives outraged at Robertson’s suspension for expressing his belief that homosexuality is a sin. On the other are people who say religion is no excuse for bigotry.

The Lebanon, Tenn.-based restaurant company initially removed certain products made by Duck Commander, the business run by the Robertson family of the A&E show, “which we were concerned might offend some of our guests.”

Here’s the entire post from Cracker Barrel:

“Dear Cracker Barrel Customer:

When we made the decision to remove and evaluate certain Duck Dynasty items, we offended many of our loyal customers. Our intent was to avoid offending, but that’s just what we’ve done.

You told us we made a mistake. And, you weren’t shy about it. You wrote, you called and you took to social media to express your thoughts and feelings. You flat out told us we were wrong.

We listened.

Today, we are putting all our Duck Dynasty products back in our stores.

And, we apologize for offending you.

We respect all individuals right to express their beliefs. We certainly did not mean to have anyone think different.

We sincerely hope you will continue to be part of our Cracker Barrel family.”

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