On Feb. 27, Bradley Reid Byrd of Milltown, Ind., was celebrating his birthday when his wife came home to tell him that she'd lost her job. After 11 years with Cracker Barrel, Nanette was informed that "she wasn't working out" (according to Brad's account of the event relayed to him by his wife). Brad was mad. So he took his issue to Facebook, where he posed a question to Cracker Barrel's page: "Why did you fire my wife?" Not long afterward, many other people asked the same question. And then many more. And more.
In the past month, Facebook users all over the globe have peppered the Lebanon, Tenn.-based restaurant chain's Facebook page and social media posts with demands of #justiceforbradswife and #bradswifematters. News of Brad's wife's separation from the company has reached so far and wide that even People magazine picked up the story earlier this week after word spread via comedian Amiri King. There's even a change.org petition that "demands answers."
As comments, one-star reviews, and angry posts flooded the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Facebook page, the company never responded to the question. One might assume that personnel matters are not approved topics for Cracker Barrel's social media, but neither Brad nor Brad's wife (as his supporters fondly refer to them) have received any official communication from the company, according to Brad's latest public Facebook post. Brad maintains that it was the Lebanon corporate office, not local personnel in Corydon, Ind., that fired his wife, so he has requested that all correspondence be directed thusly.
In the meantime, Cracker Barrel persists with its standard social media posts. The company has shared video of Alison Krauss' "Warehouse Sessions" performances (part of a promotion arranged with the bluegrass singer), news of multi-berry pancakes, and a stainless-steel seahorse-design reusable bottle — all things that supporters insist that Brad's wife (and perhaps Brad as well) would have enjoyed if Brad's wife still had a job with Cracker Barrel.
