August 27, 2025 • 41 mins
Bradley Jay Fills in on NightSide
Last week Cracker Barrel, known for their restaurant and country store with a Southern, down-home draw, decided to change their long-time logo removing the “old timer” leaning on a barrel, to reflect just the name “Cracker Barrel” against a mustard yellow background. The change was met with such backlash that President Trump even chimed in criticizing the change. Flash forward Wednesday the company announced they will be resorting back to their original logo. Why did the company change the logo in the first place?
Last week Cracker Barrel, known for their restaurant and country store with a Southern, down-home draw, decided to change their long-time logo removing the “old timer” leaning on a barrel, to reflect just the name “Cracker Barrel” against a mustard yellow background. The change was met with such backlash that President Trump even chimed in criticizing the change. Flash forward Wednesday the company announced they will be resorting back to their original logo. Why did the company change the logo in the first place?
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
It's night Side with Dan Ray. I'm telling you best
Boston's niche radio. Yeah, what time is It's eleven oh
seven and a half here on wb Z. And we
had a real cool conversation with him marketing guru about
the Cracker Barrel logo. And I have Megan in Taunton here.
(00:23):
I'm guessing she's gonna talk about that. And also after this,
I wanted to find out more about Cracker Barrel because
I don't know much about it. So I looked at
up the menu and I noticed that the menu is
also like a logo. There's something about the menu that
is a marketing tool on its own. The way it's
(00:44):
laid out and the names of the food, the names
of the dishes also are they go along with that
old logo, So I can I can see it. I
can see even louder why the logo change was upsetting,
because it's now it doesn't go with the menu or
(01:07):
anything that there's a vibe that the menu creates and
the old logo used to be uh synonymous with and
it's not anymore. So I want to go through the
menu and actually now I really want to go to
Cracker Barrel. We have Megan and Taunton. Hellou Meghan, Hi.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
How are you tonight?
Speaker 3 (01:29):
Good? I did want to talk to your previous call
I culture late, but I thought his example about Apple
logo was wonderful and I was wondering, though, is there
an example of a logo for a company that was
had the aging population and was having a decree decline
and sale that was able to change and have success
(01:55):
or is it kind of yeah?
Speaker 1 (01:57):
I wish I thought of that question. Do you do
you happen to have any idea to have one in mind?
Speaker 2 (02:02):
No?
Speaker 3 (02:03):
I don't, but I was thinking of like a company
like Friendlies, which you know, had a lot of popularity,
but then I mean, they've tried a lot of things
to keep that going, but it didn't. And I wonder
if there were success stories or if you're just so
ingrained in the.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
That's a good question in the logo and its.
Speaker 3 (02:24):
Culture that it can't be overcome and it's just inevitable
that it's going to die a long.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
Slow death, or that a good question. How would you
how would you reframe the whole company and the vibes
so all of a sudden caught on. There has there
have to be examples of that. If anybody wants to
to look that up, I'd love to hear about it. So, uh,
have you seen the old logo in the new logo?
What do you think?
Speaker 3 (02:52):
I do think it's rather bland, but I yeah, I
think it's rather bland. I would be interested to see.
And I haven't seen the inside of the stores or
the new restaurants. How that feels right?
Speaker 1 (03:05):
I need to see the old one and the new one.
I have to see pictures of videos. I guess interesting.
I do have an example of a logo that never
should ever, ever ever be changed. Ever, it is so
important and I think almost people buy the product to
own the logo. Are you ready? Yes, Mercedes, right, it's
(03:30):
all about the logo. You could you could stick a
logo on a Chevy Vault and it would probably cost
more the Mercedes logo on there. I just think that
is that Mercedes.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
Logo is gold classic.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
Well, I remember they used to have the front of
the car right, they used to stick up it was
like a three dimensional logo.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
Yes, that's right.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
People kept stealing them, I think so that they had
to fix.
Speaker 4 (03:59):
It to the car.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
See's you know you have a successful logo when people
steal the logo. Thanks a lot, Megan, I appreciate it.
Drive carefully, Yeah, you got it?
Speaker 5 (04:13):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
Who has not been to a a cracker barrel? I
am one. But I'm doing some research here just last minute,
and it looks really good. Now I want to go.
And I don't know if this menu has recently been changed,
but a couple of things. The menu feels like the
old logo because it's very busy. Oh when I wanted
(04:36):
to throw another question out there, you know those new
fangled QR code logos instead of menus. Do you like that? Now?
I have to be very careful not to be pisionholed
as old guy who doesn't like change. And I'm really
not because I'm constantly learning new computer programs and learning
(04:58):
how to play the guitar. I'm learning and I embrace it.
I realize it's in order to get along in the
brave new world, you have to debate, devote a certain
amount of time to learning technology. You cannot run from it.
You must embrace it. You must be the boss of it.
So I do. But I and I actually have a
(05:19):
business card with a QR code. I love it for that. However,
there's something about the QR code memory I don't like.
And maybe it's that when you look when you use
it up with your phone, it's too little. It's just
kind of small to see all the details. Maybe it's
just the pain. I just want to open them in you,
(05:41):
but instead I got to It's not that big a deal,
but it's an extra step, of course. On the other side.
On the downside, menus cost restaurants money. Do I care
about that, well, only if it makes my meal more expensive.
But the big thing I think is germs. You know
how they'd say you're remote at home? Is the dirtiest
(06:04):
thing around? Well, probably menus are pretty dirty. They're supposed
to wipe them down, but I'm sure they sometimes don't.
Some restaurants sometimes don't, and even then it's probably ineffectual
how they're wiping it down with germ killer or just water.
Let me go through this delicious looking cracker barrel restaurant.
(06:25):
I wish they had one in my hometown. I wish
they had one near me because there's no comfort food
restaurant near me. For breakfast they have and notice the names.
The names are synonymous with that logo Mama's Breakfast. That's
kind of old timy right, three buttermilk pancakes and four
(06:45):
or four slices of French toast, Grandma's sampler, Grandpa's country
fried breakfast, the old Timer, two eggs, a choice of
bacon and sausage, the country. Ohay, see how that's all
thematic and it is synonymous with the old logos. And
(07:09):
I don't know if this is the new menu or not.
Let's take a look at the early the dinner menu,
I mean the early dinner minute dinner menu. Yes see,
I don't have anything like this near me. Chicken and dumplings,
meat loaf, classic meat loaf second only to moms smoke us,
grilled chicken, garlic steak tips. Oh, stop it, stop it.
(07:36):
You know what my supper was, celery sticks and humus.
So this is this is killing me. I do want
to go to the nearest cracker barrel soon.
Speaker 5 (07:47):
Oh.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
And I feel during the break I felt very guilty.
If you remember, before the break, I maligned my mother's cooking,
and I thought, oh my, my poor past on mother.
What if she's looking down at me, proud of her
son for being on the radio, but then she hears
me dissing her cooking. Well, I'm sorry, mam. And but
(08:13):
she did make there's one thing she did make, American
chop suey. You know what that is, this Macaronian hamburger
and it's spaghetti sauce and it was the best. So
and she made other good stuff too. I shouldn't I
shouldn't have dissed her cooking. Let's go to uh, you
know what, right after this built You've only been on
a whole two minutes as far as I can see.
(08:34):
Let's do this quick break and then you can have
more time. All right, it's WBZ.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
It's Night Side with Dan Ray on w b Boston's
news radio.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
Crocker Barrel, anyone, Yeah, what do you think about the
new logo versus the old one and all that goes
along with it? The whole the reason for all the
you know, the what's the word? The the controversy is
that these days everything gets associated with politics because identity
(09:05):
politics is the way politics are now, and now any
progress or attempt to progress, failed or successful is perceived
as woke. That's now a factor where it probably didn't
used to be. Now we have Bill and Framingham. I'm
glad you called Bill.
Speaker 5 (09:24):
Thanks actually and I've never been to Kracko Ball. I
think all the political stuff is very annoying about it.
I think they should do what they want and keep
serving good food and the politics would fade away. But
that's not why I called. There are three logos that
come to mind that I think are ones that sort
(09:45):
of are interesting. In nineteen fifty eight, there was a
restaurant that opened called the International House of Pancakes. Oh yeah,
And until nineteen seventy three it was known as the
International House of Pancakes. And then they started the I
Hop and it started to attract college students who would
(10:07):
swarm there at eleven o'clock twelve o'clock at night on
the weekends. Because they changed their name, they knew they
wanted to attract a new audience and it worked. And
to this day, no matter what I Hop you go
to Friday Saturday nights, it's stills with young college students. Family.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
What was it about that game change that made that
and made it popular with college students.
Speaker 5 (10:32):
I just think it became much more of a sort
of a lingo. You know, who wants to say, oh,
let's go to the International aspect arms would say that,
and it used to be a family place, and now
it's a very you know, good quality food, reasonably priced
and it now attracts both audiences. So that was a
(10:54):
very smart move on their part. Another logo that will
never change even though it has evol is the Golden
Arches and you will always see the Golden Arches in
one way or another, you know, but they will never
get rid of it. And the last one I wanted
to mention for a different kind of industry is the
(11:17):
NBC peacock.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
Oh, they always, no matter what logo they have, they
show iteration of that peacock, more modern, more more.
Speaker 5 (11:29):
Stylized, but it's always. In fact, they even show how
it's evolved over the years in their in their advertisements.
So it's just you know, you can make changes, and
I just think you don't want to forget the past,
but you certainly can evolve, you know what.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
Let's see, No, this is not really relevant to what
you were saying. I thought i'd heard something relatives of
the peacock, and I had, so this, this does not contrast.
This is not against what you said. But ms NBC
will now just become MS and they're gonna and they're
going to lose the peacock logo because.
Speaker 5 (12:15):
That's because it's under new ownership, right, That's what.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
Yeah, that's why. That's why I said that it wasn't
really relevant to your your thing here.
Speaker 5 (12:23):
But I don't think people tuned into m M S
NBC because of the peacock. They tuned in because of
the the reporting that they did, and I think they're
going to try and stick with that, and the audience
who liked them for the reporting and the anchor that
are still there will follow them even if they called
it whatever, macer barrel.
Speaker 1 (12:42):
Cracker barrel news. Wow.
Speaker 5 (12:44):
Yeah. I mean, it's the people and the and the
views that they reported, and they don't in the fact,
they don't change what they're doing because of the politics
that are the politics, dojure? So you know, And that's
what I think is we're we're losing here with this
crack a barrel because five years from now the politics
(13:05):
will change.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
You're a thinking, very thinking guy. Are you retired? You
do you have a job? Tell me about you?
Speaker 5 (13:13):
Yes, yes, but my mind hasn't retired yet.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
How did you like retirement? Because I know a lot
of people who are retiring. I know a doctor who's
retiring and it's kind of a struggle for him.
Speaker 5 (13:24):
Oh I I love waking up and not knowing what
day it is or what I have to do.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
Yeah, what time?
Speaker 5 (13:32):
Yeah exactly.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
You know.
Speaker 5 (13:33):
Again, it's it's the freedom of not I mean, of
course we all still have responsibilities, but repirement, retirement it's
and not everyone can do it. And I have to
watch the money I spend as well, even in retirement.
And but if you can plan for it, which is
obviously the goal, and you can coordinate it and watch
(13:56):
your pennies before you do it, it ends up being very nice.
And I don't get bored at all.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
I had a woman once tell me who's had been
long retired, that it's important, even after retirement, to have
an obligation. There's something you need to do otherwise you
really get you get floaty and useless and have a
poor self esteem. Do you find that you need some
sort of obligation a reason that to do something, maybe
(14:22):
to help somebody each week? Is that a help?
Speaker 5 (14:25):
Do I do that? Because that's who I am. I
don't do it to stay all bored. And I mean
I just there's some things you don't change as you
get older. And just the person you are is the
person you are. And I still do things, you know,
sort of on the side, make a little money here
and there. But you know, if you if you were,
if you always wanted to be a couch potato, you
(14:47):
will probably still be a couch potato when you retire.
And I can watch TV, A'll get along. But I
just want to get to be bored.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
Yeah, I hear you. I'm a person who needs to
be productive in some way, whether it's making music or
going for a walk or something. I can't just sit around.
I love talking to you, but I hope you call back.
Speaker 5 (15:07):
Thanks so much.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
Have a good one, of course. Charles and Pa, how
you doing?
Speaker 6 (15:12):
How you doing? Are you talking about people? Businesses are
changing their names?
Speaker 1 (15:18):
Yes, that's one thing. We can talk about anything you
want for the next time.
Speaker 6 (15:21):
How about Duncan donut now just called Duncan.
Speaker 1 (15:24):
That's a good one. I've been wondering about that. Uh.
I guess that's not that bold because the key part
was the duncan and not the donuts and donuts donuts
is the only part.
Speaker 6 (15:36):
Of what they do well when they when they start
out basically was just Collfe and don'ts wasn't when now
they have sandwiches and all sorts of food. So maybe
they wanted to get the donut out of the name.
Speaker 1 (15:50):
Does it do any of the stories just call themselves
Dunkses that ever become an official thing? Or is that
just what.
Speaker 6 (15:56):
They called Duncan down here in Pennsylvania?
Speaker 1 (15:58):
Okay, okay, I didn't even Yeah, I didn't even know
that you had Dunkin Donuts down there in Pennsylvania. I
wonder if they're different, if they look the same.
Speaker 6 (16:08):
The buildings you mean.
Speaker 1 (16:09):
Yeah, the room, the vibe, the logo and everything.
Speaker 6 (16:12):
Well, down here, the most people manage them, or Indians
from India. Yes, And I've been told they go to
a certain state. They don't have provinces, they have states
that they go for their management, management and workers.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
Oh yes, I bet Well maybe they have. Maybe there's
a firm, an employment firm that they used that's in
a particular area that they have good luck.
Speaker 6 (16:37):
Well yeah, yeah, so as I've heard that, and they
are down here about I've never been in one down
here that doesn't have an Indian staff.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
Interesting. What do you get when you go to Duncan Donuts?
Speaker 6 (16:52):
Well, not much because I haven't been there for quite
a while. Occasionally some dunkin Donuts. That's about the only
thing I get. I try to watch what I eat,
and I don't want them fast food sandwiches full of
all that stuff. Yeah, so I'm not going to say
I'm a regular customer when I do go and it's
they're always Indians. I was gonna say something. Aren't they
(17:13):
from Boston originally?
Speaker 1 (17:15):
Oh yeah, they're from a town near like a satellite town.
I can't remember which one, you know, anybody know because
there is a photo of the original one, I think,
but I can't be positive. I need somebody to look
that up for me and call me and tell me.
Speaker 6 (17:31):
At six, I want to answer a questions what we
found here. We have wad wah like crazy they have
they got to Boston yet? No, Uh, it's it's a
combination gas station and uh you can get your gas
there and also food they didn't have. They have halfway
decent food. Well, I tell you they charged an arm
(17:52):
or leg for it. I believe it's it's unbelievable what
they get. Wow wow wa.
Speaker 5 (17:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:59):
Well I'll be I'll keep any out and when I
see one, I'll say Hey, that guy Charles he told
me about.
Speaker 6 (18:05):
Are you gonna be regular now on?
Speaker 1 (18:06):
I'm just filling into two more nights.
Speaker 6 (18:09):
Yeah, because I go around the dial and I know
you used to be on like at midnight, weren't you.
Speaker 5 (18:15):
Uh yeah, that's right.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
I used to be on midnight to five am.
Speaker 6 (18:18):
Yeah. Yeah, yeah, I don't know we down here. It's
unfortunately put all these syndicated shows on. Hey, don't get
the local flavor of the town when you turn the
radio on anymore.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
Oh yeah, well you have us. We're here for you, buddy.
Speaker 6 (18:32):
Okay, it's nice talking to you. Take it easy, yeah,
of course.
Speaker 1 (18:36):
Quick thing about Dunkin Donuts and me, I'm addicted to
dunk to Duncan's. It's so interesting. There are a lot
of coffee places around, and I don't I'm not a
coffee fanatic. I don't even get regular coffee. I get
DCAF coffee. I'm I'm not addicted to coffee. I'm addicted
to Dunkin Donuts. I'm addicted to the process of purchasing
(18:59):
things at Condonuts as such a creature of habit. If
I can't walk by, I go in. I like the
smell in there. I like. I say, we have a
small iced decalf with three milks, and sometimes I'll say,
can you put a little splash of caffeine in there?
(19:20):
Just a little splash. And it's always the same unless
they gave me the senior discount because I have a
white beard. Some do, some don't. Then I walk away.
I might drink half of it and throw it away.
I know that's wasteful, but I am addicted to the
purchase of it, and it's been that way for decades.
(19:42):
I have time for one quickie before our newsy break.
Chris in Bellingham, Massachusetts, Hello, sir.
Speaker 7 (19:51):
Yes, sure, I just have a couple of things, one
call or just a middle of the golf asked where
the first duncan was?
Speaker 2 (20:00):
It was in Quinsy Oh?
Speaker 1 (20:01):
What was Oh? The original dunkin Donuts?
Speaker 2 (20:05):
Right?
Speaker 1 (20:05):
Oh? Do you happen to know the year? Did you
look it up? No, that's that's okay.
Speaker 7 (20:12):
I didn't look it up.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
I've seen the photo of it, and it's cool because
it has all those like car those cars from the time,
the automobiles, and it has the same style of the
times too.
Speaker 7 (20:26):
Thanks Chris, and I also wanted to comment on something
another caller said about the NBC peacocks. Right, NBC abandoned
the peacock for a few years. On New Year's Day
in nineteen eighty, they stopped using the peacock entirely and
(20:47):
switched to a stylized and it was half blue and
half red, and they used that exclusively for six years
and went back to the peacocks.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
Wow, that's that's news. That's good to know. How do
you did you just know that?
Speaker 2 (21:05):
I let it?
Speaker 1 (21:09):
Well, you are a human encyclopedia. That's good. That's a
good one. Especially, Thank you so much for that correction.
I really appreciate it. Thanks Chras. All Right, I'm going
to be a good boy and break now, and then
we'll get to Tabari and June in Rhode Island on
WBZ It's Night Side with Dan Ray on w B
(21:32):
Boston's news Radio. Well, it's great to have you with us.
I'm enjoying this Jill time now. Kind of it's a
little bit open liney, and I haven't had a chance
to do that during this two week Fiel instint. Hopefully
I'll be able to do that a little more for
the next For the rest of tonight and the next
the next couple of nights, because I have as I
(21:53):
walk through life, a lot of these questions pop up,
and I think, I wonder what the bes folks would
think about this or that, three or four things a day,
and I do keep them and then don't really rise
to the level of it full hour or even half
hour or genuine topics at all. They're just some things
that I could maybe combine two or three questions, like
(22:15):
do a thing three questions? And you you know, you
could pick any one of those who call about so
many things. And but now I have I got to
go talk to Tabari in Wooster and see what's up.
Probably has something to do with logos or cracker barrel
or something like that. Hi, you're in Worcester.
Speaker 8 (22:37):
Hey, how are you Bradley. Good to hear you back
on the radio again.
Speaker 1 (22:40):
Thank you?
Speaker 8 (22:42):
Uh so, uh logos. Yes, we did have an experience
a couple of times at a cracker bell in Milford,
Connecticut with my sisters. There was Thanksgiving. We went down
to my sisters and uh yeah, the food was was
not that great. It was wasn't my mother's home cooking.
I can tell you you had Uh.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
I'm sure they had an off day because people seem
to love the food.
Speaker 8 (23:09):
They that's been uh normally the uh the uh uh
the rating that you would hear. You know that they're
known for chicken fried steak and that kind of thing.
I always see them in Sturbridge. Never really venture to
go to think about going there, but you know it's
Christmas Thanksgiving Day usually it's that that one time that
(23:30):
the one restaurant that's that's that's available, so you go down.
But uh uh I mean it was okay.
Speaker 1 (23:36):
Okay, just I have to hold you up here just
for the record, for the record, I did not solicit
any reviews of Cracker Barrel and I've heard nothing but
good things. And I I understand that you had a problem,
but I that opinion in no way represents the show
(23:56):
or me or any the station or anything. There you go, Tomori,
there you go.
Speaker 8 (24:01):
Well, if it's if it's some consolation, we did go
down a couple of times, so it's it must have
been something must have been okay about it. But uh yeah,
it was in a country store. It's uh the the
usual uh kind of country themed, the month style uh
(24:24):
kind of a place. But they did have cold uh
pumpkin pie. So that was nice, cold from the from
the from the refrigerator, but otherwise, yeah, it was okay. Experience,
that's my that's my experience.
Speaker 1 (24:40):
I myself, I think I'm gonna go and I think
it's gonna be great because everyone else that I've talked to,
I think it's gonna be great. And we're not doing
reviews of Cracker Barrel. If you're calling to do that,
then then hang up because it's not about that. Maybe,
but if you if you haven't anything to say about
(25:00):
the logo or explain what it looks like or explain
what it's about, that's cool. And mostly we're concentrating on
what you think about the choice of the new logo,
certainly not reviews of the place we go to. June
and Rhode Island. We're in Rhode Island, June. I need
(25:21):
to know the town.
Speaker 4 (25:24):
North Providence.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
Oh okay, very good. Now I had can picture it
in my mind. What's going on in North Providence tonight? June?
Speaker 4 (25:33):
No, not much. I called. Regarding the dunkin Donuts, I
looked it up for you said nineteen fifty it was started. Wow,
and it's the Quinsy Mass Dunkin Donuts across from the
Ford Dealership on South Ottery, I think it's called And
(25:54):
I went to buy a vehicle and I went across
the street, and that's when I found out that it
was the original Dunkin Donuts.
Speaker 1 (26:01):
I spent an entire New Years in Dunkin Donuts. You
want to hear the story, sure, okay, good. So I
was in high school, No, I was, but I was.
I was old enough to drink. I was the legal
drinking age at the time.
Speaker 4 (26:20):
Which was eighteen back then.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
Yeah, there was a little period of time where it
was eighteen in New Hampshire. Anyway, I was. It was
New Year's Even. There was this girl that I was
kind of going out with and we're going to go
she was babysitting. I was going to go hang out
at her house, but she fell asleep, so I had
nothing to do. I had nowhere to go, and I
lived ten miles away. So around ten o'clock on New
(26:47):
Year's Eve, I did nowhere to go, nowhere to sleep,
and I was stuck. And so I had to go
to Dunkin Donuts in Rochester, New Hampshire. And back then,
Dunkin Donuts were open all night at least some of
them right, and this one and I kind of wish
they still were. And this one was over all night,
(27:07):
so I was like that that painting of nighthawks at
the diner. I was sitting at the at the counter
in one of those dunkin Donuts seats for like eight hours.
Speaker 2 (27:21):
You know, all.
Speaker 1 (27:22):
The people from that have been partying from the New
Year's Eve celebrations came in and uh and then this
it was a long night. The minutes ticked by, and
finally the sun came up and wow, that was a long,
long night. So I have a I have a dunkin
Donuts memory burned in my brain. June. Thanks for giving
(27:44):
me that information on the location of the first and
the and the year of the first dunkin Donuts.
Speaker 4 (27:50):
May I say one other things to you? Of course,
I just I hear you every so often on the
radio when you fill in, and I think of you
all the time because the night that they pursued the
marathon bombers, you were doing the overnights then and I
(28:12):
stayed up almost all night listening, and so every time
I think of that, I think of you when you
did a fabulous job.
Speaker 1 (28:23):
You know, well, thank you very very very very much
for that. That means a lot, because that was the
first time I was ever called upon to do to
be a news person. I was ah, I was a
talk radio host, and it's entirely it's an entirely different thing.
And all of a sudden, and everybody knows that that
(28:43):
the overnight, any any talk show hosts at a news
talk station like Dan Right or anybody, something bad could happen,
something big could happen, and you have to have somebody
on the air that can deal with that. And so
that was my big test and I got it, and
it was a it was very stressful, but I knew
(29:04):
enough to I knew how not to make a mistake,
and that was the key thing. And I didn't make
a mistake, and I do have to at this juncture,
I have to give credit to the producer that night,
Mark Lavallo, who he was a big help because he
helped keep me from making a mistake and he helped
(29:24):
me do a good job. For example, when one of
our reporters would call in from the area where there
was the gunfight, and the person would call in and
Mark said, Okay, now ask a follow up question, which
I might have done anyway, but you know, to have
Mark's coaching because he'd been through these kind of things before,
was really really valuable. So Mark, if you're listening, thank
(29:48):
you for that. And if anybody knows Mark, tell Mark.
I was giving him his due props for a spectacular
performance on the night of the marathon bombing manhunt and
how much he help me. So thanks for thank you
for noticing that that was a huge deal, a big deal.
Speaker 4 (30:05):
Thanks well, I appreciate it, Thank you, of course.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
I am. I good, Yeah, I'm good to take a
call here. Well, that's because I've been keeping keeping up
with the breaks we have Michael and Attenborough.
Speaker 2 (30:17):
Him, Brady Jay how ayah.
Speaker 1 (30:20):
I'm really super well, I'm having a blast.
Speaker 2 (30:24):
I'm a sign collector and I do have a docking
donuts one. What they did is they they originally got
rid of that guy about the time to make the donuts.
Oh yeah, right right, yeah, yeah, originally you know, dropped him.
I don't remember what year it was, let's say fifteen
(30:45):
twenty years ago, not for any bad reason, just to
because of me, you know, changing image a little. I
also believe in the seventies, I believe I was under
a hunt or grand Now you need a Megan or
two million up front. But anyway, anyway, I more want
(31:08):
to talk about. In fact, it was a great kneon
they took down over in Alston. What's that Western Alf?
Because the owner of the Duncans didn't want to redo
it and it ended up in Marvel with a sign company.
I was going to go after it, but it never happened,
so it's probably ruined now. Although there's that guy that
(31:28):
I'm sure you may know him. He does all neon over.
Speaker 1 (31:36):
Western Alf. I'm trying to picture it. Where was it?
Speaker 2 (31:39):
I think instead of Corn, I think it's Western Alf.
Speaker 1 (31:42):
Oh it's still there, right, yeah, it's right across the street.
It's right across the street from Trader Joe's and right
as a gas station right there too, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:55):
Yes, okay, And anyway, anyway, what they did is they
made a big deal either they didn't want to do
the knee on over so it ended up in the
Marble Science shop and I never pursued it. But you know,
you need huge trucks and you need a lot of money.
But getting back to crack a barrel, I believe. Oh,
by the way, Duncan's closed a lot of during COVID,
(32:17):
and if we can believe it, they never closed, and
they I mean closed, they actually closed. As soon as
I saw that, I said, this is serious, this is duncan. Yeah. Yeah,
But anyway, I believe I believe Cracker Barrel went announced
today they were going back to the original.
Speaker 1 (32:37):
Yeah, that's correct.
Speaker 2 (32:38):
Yes, Now a little history on that is now that
GM they called in, she's probably gonna walk away with
ten million dollars at the severance.
Speaker 1 (32:48):
Right who who you tell you about?
Speaker 2 (32:52):
They called in a new GM to redesign the phone.
Speaker 1 (32:55):
Oh, I don't know. You can think that the new
GM there redesign the sign. We'll get fired for this.
Speaker 2 (33:03):
Not fired, but there's always some clause. If I get
let go, it's uh, you give me five. But anyway,
I think what you do, Cracker Barrel, it's an old
fashioned look. And you must remember in the nineties they
started doing fifties nightclubs. I worked in a couple of them.
(33:23):
Besided doing fifties nightclubs. A lot of them have cut
back because the trending with the college kids, they're not
as interested in that. And I think the decorps has
a lot to do with it, and in uh in
the crack a barrel. I mean, I don't know if
it's going to stop someone to go in, I mean
even to walk in and go oh, I don't like that.
(33:45):
I don't like the signs from the parties or the
signs from I don't know if that's going to stop people.
Speaker 1 (33:51):
Well, here's the thing. Our guest Scott did say that
nostalgia has a shelf life because before long, right before long,
then thee is going to be nothing because no one's
going to be alive that remembers the old timy days.
So it's not it doesn't.
Speaker 2 (34:05):
Matter, that's exactly it. And I think the foods for
I'm only cutting in because I know you're gonna cut
me off. The fact I got off, I got cut
off with Beaver the other night. I still got to
talk to him about some stones memory memorabile that I
have because my family's made it clear anything in my
house is getting thrown in the dumb stuff.
Speaker 1 (34:24):
So I say, do you have stones memorabilia?
Speaker 2 (34:27):
Yeah, I have the from seventy nine seventy five. I
have an Manila folder of the whole aspect of putting
on the show at the garden because I know someone
who took the guard in the past, you know, was
on the demolish crew and the beach boards. It shows
the load of stage, it shows how many tickets are
(34:48):
sold and so on. So you know, written down by hand,
and I got a few other things.
Speaker 1 (34:53):
But yeah, he's going to be very interested in that.
Do you know how to get you? Do you know
how to get in touch with him?
Speaker 2 (35:01):
Yeah? I looked at it the other night. I also
have a big, big, five foot high thing of the
lip the lips made out of sty form. I think
it may have come on out of towel records, but
incidentally I bought it off with Craiglist from someone who
worked at CEZ at the time. Wow, do you know
(35:22):
how that comes through Beab's hands.
Speaker 1 (35:25):
I don't know how you get in touch with him,
but figure it out. I mean, he's out there. David Bieber.
The reason we mentioned that is because David Bieber was
a guest last week. He is a cultural archivist. I
got to explain. I got to explain who he is
to everybody so that they understand.
Speaker 2 (35:40):
Where he's located and is likely boxed property. Right.
Speaker 1 (35:44):
I don't know, you'll find him. He's famous figure it out.
He may very well be interested in that cool stuff. Michael.
I love the car. I really appreciate it. Thank you
so much. Yes, David Bieber was a guest, and he
brought him what was artifacts from the Boston seventies, and
(36:04):
I wanted him to have artifacts that we would tell
stories about that would bring us back to Boston in
the seventies, and he did. He brought back some sport,
he brought some sports stuff, some rock stuff, some political stuff,
and he'll be back again. So I will take a
break down, and I have ten minutes to chat with you. You
can call if you like. I'd love to hear from you,
but I can certainly entertain you for eight minutes if
(36:29):
you don't call. Either way. On WBZ, You're.
Speaker 2 (36:32):
On Night Side with Dan Ray on WBZ, Boston's news radio.
Speaker 1 (36:37):
All right, my friends, I have five minutes, just un
to five minutes. I want to take ninety seconds of
that to tell you a couple of things. Number One,
if you should miss any part of any of these
segments on Nightside, or maybe you missed the whole night,
you can still hear them. All is not lost. Just
google Nightside on demand, where you find the podcast Rob
(37:02):
Brooks working the Wheel in Mass Control pops them up
right away. So that's night Side on Demand and for
the last for the last weekend. This week some of
the things that you might have missed was a really
cool conversation with a reporter who's live from ki Ukraine
who just stepped out of his air raid shelter after
(37:26):
a night of being bombed and missiled and droned and
attacked by the Russians to tell us what it was
really like over there. And by the way, one thing
he did tell us is the Russians are hurting a
lot more than you hear in the Western media. And
that is available right there at Nightside on Demand. His
(37:47):
name was Jason J. Smart And oh yes, we did
a live thing where these persons, these guys who work
out on the harbor on boats taking the harbor pilots
out to the big ships so they can bring this
big ships into the harbor and take them out. That
(38:10):
we talk to the people who delivered those harbor pilots
to the ships and the process of getting them on
the ship while the ship is moving very dangerous. That
was live from Boston Harbor. That is also available to
hear it nightside on demand and as far as I
go personally, you can, you know, get in contact with
(38:32):
my social media by going to BRADLEYJ dot org b
r A d l e y jy dot org and
there you can access Yeah, there's links to everything. My
travel channel on YouTube with like one hundred and fifty destinations,
that's a lot, my original music, what else all the
(38:53):
stuff and my social media, my Instagram, my Facebook, et cetera.
If you want to join me on that. So it's
brad J b r A, d L y jy dot
r G. We have time for Sky in California.
Speaker 9 (39:10):
Hi, Si Sky, Hi Bradley, How are you doing? First
of all, I want to say initially you're sorely missed
on the overnights from twelve to five. That was the
only thing that would get me through with entertaining conversation
intellectual you know, subject matters, and I was part of
a movement to try to return your sensibility to us.
Speaker 1 (39:33):
You were successful here I am there, you are.
Speaker 9 (39:36):
Yes, And as far as crack a bell, one day
I drove this was many years ago, from San Francisco
Bay area to Georgia and only in the Midwestern area
that I you know, and through the crackerbells, and basically
I think the theme of the cracker bells replicate the
states that they're in. So only then would you really understand.
It's kind of walking into all town Cowbo Cow Cowboys
(40:01):
Saloon restaurant and it was a lot of fun. It
was very nice and easy, you know, right?
Speaker 1 (40:06):
So have you have they changed? And have you been
in a new designed restaurant?
Speaker 2 (40:12):
No?
Speaker 9 (40:12):
No, I just moved back from Canton to back to
Napa Valley, so I'm basically doing the moving process.
Speaker 2 (40:17):
Still.
Speaker 9 (40:18):
The other question I had real quick, This has nothing
to do with it. Are used to hosting the City
Winey Winery?
Speaker 1 (40:26):
Yeah, there is a show done by my colleague Shot
you there, who used to work with me at WBC
and which is gone now. But yes, we do them
instead of monthly, though at City Winery it's quarterly. The
next ones in Uptown. I think it's I think it
celebrates John Lennon and I don't know the exact day. Yes,
I am the MC. I introduced those guys and it's
(40:48):
all about the Beatles. If you're a Beatles fanatica you'll love.
Speaker 9 (40:52):
Oh I did meet you there a couple of times
I was with Frank Sky and Frank.
Speaker 1 (40:56):
Oh all right, well I hope you can get back.
Speaker 9 (41:00):
I don't know, probably not. I'm gonna stay here in
California for a while, but yeah, anyway, it was wonderful
to hear you back again.
Speaker 1 (41:08):
Thank you Sky, appreciate it. Who kind of you all
are wonderful. I had a blast. I hope you'll join
me tomorrow night on nights Side on WBZ news Radio
ten thirty
It's night Side with Dan Ray. I'm telling you best
Boston's niche radio. Yeah, what time is It's eleven oh
seven and a half here on wb Z. And we
had a real cool conversation with him marketing guru about
the Cracker Barrel logo. And I have Megan in Taunton here.
(00:23):
I'm guessing she's gonna talk about that. And also after this,
I wanted to find out more about Cracker Barrel because
I don't know much about it. So I looked at
up the menu and I noticed that the menu is
also like a logo. There's something about the menu that
is a marketing tool on its own. The way it's
(00:44):
laid out and the names of the food, the names
of the dishes also are they go along with that
old logo, So I can I can see it. I
can see even louder why the logo change was upsetting,
because it's now it doesn't go with the menu or
(01:07):
anything that there's a vibe that the menu creates and
the old logo used to be uh synonymous with and
it's not anymore. So I want to go through the
menu and actually now I really want to go to
Cracker Barrel. We have Megan and Taunton. Hellou Meghan, Hi.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
How are you tonight?
Speaker 3 (01:29):
Good? I did want to talk to your previous call
I culture late, but I thought his example about Apple
logo was wonderful and I was wondering, though, is there
an example of a logo for a company that was
had the aging population and was having a decree decline
and sale that was able to change and have success
(01:55):
or is it kind of yeah?
Speaker 1 (01:57):
I wish I thought of that question. Do you do
you happen to have any idea to have one in mind?
Speaker 2 (02:02):
No?
Speaker 3 (02:03):
I don't, but I was thinking of like a company
like Friendlies, which you know, had a lot of popularity,
but then I mean, they've tried a lot of things
to keep that going, but it didn't. And I wonder
if there were success stories or if you're just so
ingrained in the.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
That's a good question in the logo and its.
Speaker 3 (02:24):
Culture that it can't be overcome and it's just inevitable
that it's going to die a long.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
Slow death, or that a good question. How would you
how would you reframe the whole company and the vibes
so all of a sudden caught on. There has there
have to be examples of that. If anybody wants to
to look that up, I'd love to hear about it. So, uh,
have you seen the old logo in the new logo?
What do you think?
Speaker 3 (02:52):
I do think it's rather bland, but I yeah, I
think it's rather bland. I would be interested to see.
And I haven't seen the inside of the stores or
the new restaurants. How that feels right?
Speaker 1 (03:05):
I need to see the old one and the new one.
I have to see pictures of videos. I guess interesting.
I do have an example of a logo that never
should ever, ever ever be changed. Ever, it is so
important and I think almost people buy the product to
own the logo. Are you ready? Yes, Mercedes, right, it's
(03:30):
all about the logo. You could you could stick a
logo on a Chevy Vault and it would probably cost
more the Mercedes logo on there. I just think that
is that Mercedes.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
Logo is gold classic.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
Well, I remember they used to have the front of
the car right, they used to stick up it was
like a three dimensional logo.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
Yes, that's right.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
People kept stealing them, I think so that they had
to fix.
Speaker 4 (03:59):
It to the car.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
See's you know you have a successful logo when people
steal the logo. Thanks a lot, Megan, I appreciate it.
Drive carefully, Yeah, you got it?
Speaker 5 (04:13):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
Who has not been to a a cracker barrel? I
am one. But I'm doing some research here just last minute,
and it looks really good. Now I want to go.
And I don't know if this menu has recently been changed,
but a couple of things. The menu feels like the
old logo because it's very busy. Oh when I wanted
(04:36):
to throw another question out there, you know those new
fangled QR code logos instead of menus. Do you like that? Now?
I have to be very careful not to be pisionholed
as old guy who doesn't like change. And I'm really
not because I'm constantly learning new computer programs and learning
(04:58):
how to play the guitar. I'm learning and I embrace it.
I realize it's in order to get along in the
brave new world, you have to debate, devote a certain
amount of time to learning technology. You cannot run from it.
You must embrace it. You must be the boss of it.
So I do. But I and I actually have a
(05:19):
business card with a QR code. I love it for that. However,
there's something about the QR code memory I don't like.
And maybe it's that when you look when you use
it up with your phone, it's too little. It's just
kind of small to see all the details. Maybe it's
just the pain. I just want to open them in you,
(05:41):
but instead I got to It's not that big a deal,
but it's an extra step, of course. On the other side.
On the downside, menus cost restaurants money. Do I care
about that, well, only if it makes my meal more expensive.
But the big thing I think is germs. You know
how they'd say you're remote at home? Is the dirtiest
(06:04):
thing around? Well, probably menus are pretty dirty. They're supposed
to wipe them down, but I'm sure they sometimes don't.
Some restaurants sometimes don't, and even then it's probably ineffectual
how they're wiping it down with germ killer or just water.
Let me go through this delicious looking cracker barrel restaurant.
(06:25):
I wish they had one in my hometown. I wish
they had one near me because there's no comfort food
restaurant near me. For breakfast they have and notice the names.
The names are synonymous with that logo Mama's Breakfast. That's
kind of old timy right, three buttermilk pancakes and four
(06:45):
or four slices of French toast, Grandma's sampler, Grandpa's country
fried breakfast, the old Timer, two eggs, a choice of
bacon and sausage, the country. Ohay, see how that's all
thematic and it is synonymous with the old logos. And
(07:09):
I don't know if this is the new menu or not.
Let's take a look at the early the dinner menu,
I mean the early dinner minute dinner menu. Yes see,
I don't have anything like this near me. Chicken and dumplings,
meat loaf, classic meat loaf second only to moms smoke us,
grilled chicken, garlic steak tips. Oh, stop it, stop it.
(07:36):
You know what my supper was, celery sticks and humus.
So this is this is killing me. I do want
to go to the nearest cracker barrel soon.
Speaker 5 (07:47):
Oh.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
And I feel during the break I felt very guilty.
If you remember, before the break, I maligned my mother's cooking,
and I thought, oh my, my poor past on mother.
What if she's looking down at me, proud of her
son for being on the radio, but then she hears
me dissing her cooking. Well, I'm sorry, mam. And but
(08:13):
she did make there's one thing she did make, American
chop suey. You know what that is, this Macaronian hamburger
and it's spaghetti sauce and it was the best. So
and she made other good stuff too. I shouldn't I
shouldn't have dissed her cooking. Let's go to uh, you
know what, right after this built You've only been on
a whole two minutes as far as I can see.
(08:34):
Let's do this quick break and then you can have
more time. All right, it's WBZ.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
It's Night Side with Dan Ray on w b Boston's
news radio.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
Crocker Barrel, anyone, Yeah, what do you think about the
new logo versus the old one and all that goes
along with it? The whole the reason for all the
you know, the what's the word? The the controversy is
that these days everything gets associated with politics because identity
(09:05):
politics is the way politics are now, and now any
progress or attempt to progress, failed or successful is perceived
as woke. That's now a factor where it probably didn't
used to be. Now we have Bill and Framingham. I'm
glad you called Bill.
Speaker 5 (09:24):
Thanks actually and I've never been to Kracko Ball. I
think all the political stuff is very annoying about it.
I think they should do what they want and keep
serving good food and the politics would fade away. But
that's not why I called. There are three logos that
come to mind that I think are ones that sort
(09:45):
of are interesting. In nineteen fifty eight, there was a
restaurant that opened called the International House of Pancakes. Oh yeah,
And until nineteen seventy three it was known as the
International House of Pancakes. And then they started the I
Hop and it started to attract college students who would
(10:07):
swarm there at eleven o'clock twelve o'clock at night on
the weekends. Because they changed their name, they knew they
wanted to attract a new audience and it worked. And
to this day, no matter what I Hop you go
to Friday Saturday nights, it's stills with young college students. Family.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
What was it about that game change that made that
and made it popular with college students.
Speaker 5 (10:32):
I just think it became much more of a sort
of a lingo. You know, who wants to say, oh,
let's go to the International aspect arms would say that,
and it used to be a family place, and now
it's a very you know, good quality food, reasonably priced
and it now attracts both audiences. So that was a
(10:54):
very smart move on their part. Another logo that will
never change even though it has evol is the Golden
Arches and you will always see the Golden Arches in
one way or another, you know, but they will never
get rid of it. And the last one I wanted
to mention for a different kind of industry is the
(11:17):
NBC peacock.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
Oh, they always, no matter what logo they have, they
show iteration of that peacock, more modern, more more.
Speaker 5 (11:29):
Stylized, but it's always. In fact, they even show how
it's evolved over the years in their in their advertisements.
So it's just you know, you can make changes, and
I just think you don't want to forget the past,
but you certainly can evolve, you know what.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
Let's see, No, this is not really relevant to what
you were saying. I thought i'd heard something relatives of
the peacock, and I had, so this, this does not contrast.
This is not against what you said. But ms NBC
will now just become MS and they're gonna and they're
going to lose the peacock logo because.
Speaker 5 (12:15):
That's because it's under new ownership, right, That's what.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
Yeah, that's why. That's why I said that it wasn't
really relevant to your your thing here.
Speaker 5 (12:23):
But I don't think people tuned into m M S
NBC because of the peacock. They tuned in because of
the the reporting that they did, and I think they're
going to try and stick with that, and the audience
who liked them for the reporting and the anchor that
are still there will follow them even if they called
it whatever, macer barrel.
Speaker 1 (12:42):
Cracker barrel news. Wow.
Speaker 5 (12:44):
Yeah. I mean, it's the people and the and the
views that they reported, and they don't in the fact,
they don't change what they're doing because of the politics
that are the politics, dojure? So you know, And that's
what I think is we're we're losing here with this
crack a barrel because five years from now the politics
(13:05):
will change.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
You're a thinking, very thinking guy. Are you retired? You
do you have a job? Tell me about you?
Speaker 5 (13:13):
Yes, yes, but my mind hasn't retired yet.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
How did you like retirement? Because I know a lot
of people who are retiring. I know a doctor who's
retiring and it's kind of a struggle for him.
Speaker 5 (13:24):
Oh I I love waking up and not knowing what
day it is or what I have to do.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
Yeah, what time?
Speaker 5 (13:32):
Yeah exactly.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
You know.
Speaker 5 (13:33):
Again, it's it's the freedom of not I mean, of
course we all still have responsibilities, but repirement, retirement it's
and not everyone can do it. And I have to
watch the money I spend as well, even in retirement.
And but if you can plan for it, which is
obviously the goal, and you can coordinate it and watch
(13:56):
your pennies before you do it, it ends up being very nice.
And I don't get bored at all.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
I had a woman once tell me who's had been
long retired, that it's important, even after retirement, to have
an obligation. There's something you need to do otherwise you
really get you get floaty and useless and have a
poor self esteem. Do you find that you need some
sort of obligation a reason that to do something, maybe
(14:22):
to help somebody each week? Is that a help?
Speaker 5 (14:25):
Do I do that? Because that's who I am. I
don't do it to stay all bored. And I mean
I just there's some things you don't change as you
get older. And just the person you are is the
person you are. And I still do things, you know,
sort of on the side, make a little money here
and there. But you know, if you if you were,
if you always wanted to be a couch potato, you
(14:47):
will probably still be a couch potato when you retire.
And I can watch TV, A'll get along. But I
just want to get to be bored.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
Yeah, I hear you. I'm a person who needs to
be productive in some way, whether it's making music or
going for a walk or something. I can't just sit around.
I love talking to you, but I hope you call back.
Speaker 5 (15:07):
Thanks so much.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
Have a good one, of course. Charles and Pa, how
you doing?
Speaker 6 (15:12):
How you doing? Are you talking about people? Businesses are
changing their names?
Speaker 1 (15:18):
Yes, that's one thing. We can talk about anything you
want for the next time.
Speaker 6 (15:21):
How about Duncan donut now just called Duncan.
Speaker 1 (15:24):
That's a good one. I've been wondering about that. Uh.
I guess that's not that bold because the key part
was the duncan and not the donuts and donuts donuts
is the only part.
Speaker 6 (15:36):
Of what they do well when they when they start
out basically was just Collfe and don'ts wasn't when now
they have sandwiches and all sorts of food. So maybe
they wanted to get the donut out of the name.
Speaker 1 (15:50):
Does it do any of the stories just call themselves
Dunkses that ever become an official thing? Or is that
just what.
Speaker 6 (15:56):
They called Duncan down here in Pennsylvania?
Speaker 1 (15:58):
Okay, okay, I didn't even Yeah, I didn't even know
that you had Dunkin Donuts down there in Pennsylvania. I
wonder if they're different, if they look the same.
Speaker 6 (16:08):
The buildings you mean.
Speaker 1 (16:09):
Yeah, the room, the vibe, the logo and everything.
Speaker 6 (16:12):
Well, down here, the most people manage them, or Indians
from India. Yes, And I've been told they go to
a certain state. They don't have provinces, they have states
that they go for their management, management and workers.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
Oh yes, I bet Well maybe they have. Maybe there's
a firm, an employment firm that they used that's in
a particular area that they have good luck.
Speaker 6 (16:37):
Well yeah, yeah, so as I've heard that, and they
are down here about I've never been in one down
here that doesn't have an Indian staff.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
Interesting. What do you get when you go to Duncan Donuts?
Speaker 6 (16:52):
Well, not much because I haven't been there for quite
a while. Occasionally some dunkin Donuts. That's about the only
thing I get. I try to watch what I eat,
and I don't want them fast food sandwiches full of
all that stuff. Yeah, so I'm not going to say
I'm a regular customer when I do go and it's
they're always Indians. I was gonna say something. Aren't they
(17:13):
from Boston originally?
Speaker 1 (17:15):
Oh yeah, they're from a town near like a satellite town.
I can't remember which one, you know, anybody know because
there is a photo of the original one, I think,
but I can't be positive. I need somebody to look
that up for me and call me and tell me.
Speaker 6 (17:31):
At six, I want to answer a questions what we
found here. We have wad wah like crazy they have
they got to Boston yet? No, Uh, it's it's a
combination gas station and uh you can get your gas
there and also food they didn't have. They have halfway
decent food. Well, I tell you they charged an arm
(17:52):
or leg for it. I believe it's it's unbelievable what
they get. Wow wow wa.
Speaker 5 (17:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:59):
Well I'll be I'll keep any out and when I
see one, I'll say Hey, that guy Charles he told
me about.
Speaker 6 (18:05):
Are you gonna be regular now on?
Speaker 1 (18:06):
I'm just filling into two more nights.
Speaker 6 (18:09):
Yeah, because I go around the dial and I know
you used to be on like at midnight, weren't you.
Speaker 5 (18:15):
Uh yeah, that's right.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
I used to be on midnight to five am.
Speaker 6 (18:18):
Yeah. Yeah, yeah, I don't know we down here. It's
unfortunately put all these syndicated shows on. Hey, don't get
the local flavor of the town when you turn the
radio on anymore.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
Oh yeah, well you have us. We're here for you, buddy.
Speaker 6 (18:32):
Okay, it's nice talking to you. Take it easy, yeah,
of course.
Speaker 1 (18:36):
Quick thing about Dunkin Donuts and me, I'm addicted to
dunk to Duncan's. It's so interesting. There are a lot
of coffee places around, and I don't I'm not a
coffee fanatic. I don't even get regular coffee. I get
DCAF coffee. I'm I'm not addicted to coffee. I'm addicted
to Dunkin Donuts. I'm addicted to the process of purchasing
(18:59):
things at Condonuts as such a creature of habit. If
I can't walk by, I go in. I like the
smell in there. I like. I say, we have a
small iced decalf with three milks, and sometimes I'll say,
can you put a little splash of caffeine in there?
(19:20):
Just a little splash. And it's always the same unless
they gave me the senior discount because I have a
white beard. Some do, some don't. Then I walk away.
I might drink half of it and throw it away.
I know that's wasteful, but I am addicted to the
purchase of it, and it's been that way for decades.
(19:42):
I have time for one quickie before our newsy break.
Chris in Bellingham, Massachusetts, Hello, sir.
Speaker 7 (19:51):
Yes, sure, I just have a couple of things, one
call or just a middle of the golf asked where
the first duncan was?
Speaker 2 (20:00):
It was in Quinsy Oh?
Speaker 1 (20:01):
What was Oh? The original dunkin Donuts?
Speaker 2 (20:05):
Right?
Speaker 1 (20:05):
Oh? Do you happen to know the year? Did you
look it up? No, that's that's okay.
Speaker 7 (20:12):
I didn't look it up.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
I've seen the photo of it, and it's cool because
it has all those like car those cars from the time,
the automobiles, and it has the same style of the
times too.
Speaker 7 (20:26):
Thanks Chris, and I also wanted to comment on something
another caller said about the NBC peacocks. Right, NBC abandoned
the peacock for a few years. On New Year's Day
in nineteen eighty, they stopped using the peacock entirely and
(20:47):
switched to a stylized and it was half blue and
half red, and they used that exclusively for six years
and went back to the peacocks.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
Wow, that's that's news. That's good to know. How do
you did you just know that?
Speaker 2 (21:05):
I let it?
Speaker 1 (21:09):
Well, you are a human encyclopedia. That's good. That's a
good one. Especially, Thank you so much for that correction.
I really appreciate it. Thanks Chras. All Right, I'm going
to be a good boy and break now, and then
we'll get to Tabari and June in Rhode Island on
WBZ It's Night Side with Dan Ray on w B
(21:32):
Boston's news Radio. Well, it's great to have you with us.
I'm enjoying this Jill time now. Kind of it's a
little bit open liney, and I haven't had a chance
to do that during this two week Fiel instint. Hopefully
I'll be able to do that a little more for
the next For the rest of tonight and the next
the next couple of nights, because I have as I
(21:53):
walk through life, a lot of these questions pop up,
and I think, I wonder what the bes folks would
think about this or that, three or four things a day,
and I do keep them and then don't really rise
to the level of it full hour or even half
hour or genuine topics at all. They're just some things
that I could maybe combine two or three questions, like
(22:15):
do a thing three questions? And you you know, you
could pick any one of those who call about so
many things. And but now I have I got to
go talk to Tabari in Wooster and see what's up.
Probably has something to do with logos or cracker barrel
or something like that. Hi, you're in Worcester.
Speaker 8 (22:37):
Hey, how are you Bradley. Good to hear you back
on the radio again.
Speaker 1 (22:40):
Thank you?
Speaker 8 (22:42):
Uh so, uh logos. Yes, we did have an experience
a couple of times at a cracker bell in Milford,
Connecticut with my sisters. There was Thanksgiving. We went down
to my sisters and uh yeah, the food was was
not that great. It was wasn't my mother's home cooking.
I can tell you you had Uh.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
I'm sure they had an off day because people seem
to love the food.
Speaker 8 (23:09):
They that's been uh normally the uh the uh uh
the rating that you would hear. You know that they're
known for chicken fried steak and that kind of thing.
I always see them in Sturbridge. Never really venture to
go to think about going there, but you know it's
Christmas Thanksgiving Day usually it's that that one time that
(23:30):
the one restaurant that's that's that's available, so you go down.
But uh uh I mean it was okay.
Speaker 1 (23:36):
Okay, just I have to hold you up here just
for the record, for the record, I did not solicit
any reviews of Cracker Barrel and I've heard nothing but
good things. And I I understand that you had a problem,
but I that opinion in no way represents the show
(23:56):
or me or any the station or anything. There you go, Tomori,
there you go.
Speaker 8 (24:01):
Well, if it's if it's some consolation, we did go
down a couple of times, so it's it must have
been something must have been okay about it. But uh yeah,
it was in a country store. It's uh the the
usual uh kind of country themed, the month style uh
(24:24):
kind of a place. But they did have cold uh
pumpkin pie. So that was nice, cold from the from
the from the refrigerator, but otherwise, yeah, it was okay. Experience,
that's my that's my experience.
Speaker 1 (24:40):
I myself, I think I'm gonna go and I think
it's gonna be great because everyone else that I've talked to,
I think it's gonna be great. And we're not doing
reviews of Cracker Barrel. If you're calling to do that,
then then hang up because it's not about that. Maybe,
but if you if you haven't anything to say about
(25:00):
the logo or explain what it looks like or explain
what it's about, that's cool. And mostly we're concentrating on
what you think about the choice of the new logo,
certainly not reviews of the place we go to. June
and Rhode Island. We're in Rhode Island, June. I need
(25:21):
to know the town.
Speaker 4 (25:24):
North Providence.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
Oh okay, very good. Now I had can picture it
in my mind. What's going on in North Providence tonight? June?
Speaker 4 (25:33):
No, not much. I called. Regarding the dunkin Donuts, I
looked it up for you said nineteen fifty it was started. Wow,
and it's the Quinsy Mass Dunkin Donuts across from the
Ford Dealership on South Ottery, I think it's called And
(25:54):
I went to buy a vehicle and I went across
the street, and that's when I found out that it
was the original Dunkin Donuts.
Speaker 1 (26:01):
I spent an entire New Years in Dunkin Donuts. You
want to hear the story, sure, okay, good. So I
was in high school, No, I was, but I was.
I was old enough to drink. I was the legal
drinking age at the time.
Speaker 4 (26:20):
Which was eighteen back then.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
Yeah, there was a little period of time where it
was eighteen in New Hampshire. Anyway, I was. It was
New Year's Even. There was this girl that I was
kind of going out with and we're going to go
she was babysitting. I was going to go hang out
at her house, but she fell asleep, so I had
nothing to do. I had nowhere to go, and I
lived ten miles away. So around ten o'clock on New
(26:47):
Year's Eve, I did nowhere to go, nowhere to sleep,
and I was stuck. And so I had to go
to Dunkin Donuts in Rochester, New Hampshire. And back then,
Dunkin Donuts were open all night at least some of
them right, and this one and I kind of wish
they still were. And this one was over all night,
(27:07):
so I was like that that painting of nighthawks at
the diner. I was sitting at the at the counter
in one of those dunkin Donuts seats for like eight hours.
Speaker 2 (27:21):
You know, all.
Speaker 1 (27:22):
The people from that have been partying from the New
Year's Eve celebrations came in and uh and then this
it was a long night. The minutes ticked by, and
finally the sun came up and wow, that was a long,
long night. So I have a I have a dunkin
Donuts memory burned in my brain. June. Thanks for giving
(27:44):
me that information on the location of the first and
the and the year of the first dunkin Donuts.
Speaker 4 (27:50):
May I say one other things to you? Of course,
I just I hear you every so often on the
radio when you fill in, and I think of you
all the time because the night that they pursued the
marathon bombers, you were doing the overnights then and I
(28:12):
stayed up almost all night listening, and so every time
I think of that, I think of you when you
did a fabulous job.
Speaker 1 (28:23):
You know, well, thank you very very very very much
for that. That means a lot, because that was the
first time I was ever called upon to do to
be a news person. I was ah, I was a
talk radio host, and it's entirely it's an entirely different thing.
And all of a sudden, and everybody knows that that
(28:43):
the overnight, any any talk show hosts at a news
talk station like Dan Right or anybody, something bad could happen,
something big could happen, and you have to have somebody
on the air that can deal with that. And so
that was my big test and I got it, and
it was a it was very stressful, but I knew
(29:04):
enough to I knew how not to make a mistake,
and that was the key thing. And I didn't make
a mistake, and I do have to at this juncture,
I have to give credit to the producer that night,
Mark Lavallo, who he was a big help because he
helped keep me from making a mistake and he helped
(29:24):
me do a good job. For example, when one of
our reporters would call in from the area where there
was the gunfight, and the person would call in and
Mark said, Okay, now ask a follow up question, which
I might have done anyway, but you know, to have
Mark's coaching because he'd been through these kind of things before,
was really really valuable. So Mark, if you're listening, thank
(29:48):
you for that. And if anybody knows Mark, tell Mark.
I was giving him his due props for a spectacular
performance on the night of the marathon bombing manhunt and
how much he help me. So thanks for thank you
for noticing that that was a huge deal, a big deal.
Speaker 4 (30:05):
Thanks well, I appreciate it, Thank you, of course.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
I am. I good, Yeah, I'm good to take a
call here. Well, that's because I've been keeping keeping up
with the breaks we have Michael and Attenborough.
Speaker 2 (30:17):
Him, Brady Jay how ayah.
Speaker 1 (30:20):
I'm really super well, I'm having a blast.
Speaker 2 (30:24):
I'm a sign collector and I do have a docking
donuts one. What they did is they they originally got
rid of that guy about the time to make the donuts.
Oh yeah, right right, yeah, yeah, originally you know, dropped him.
I don't remember what year it was, let's say fifteen
(30:45):
twenty years ago, not for any bad reason, just to
because of me, you know, changing image a little. I
also believe in the seventies, I believe I was under
a hunt or grand Now you need a Megan or
two million up front. But anyway, anyway, I more want
(31:08):
to talk about. In fact, it was a great kneon
they took down over in Alston. What's that Western Alf?
Because the owner of the Duncans didn't want to redo
it and it ended up in Marvel with a sign company.
I was going to go after it, but it never happened,
so it's probably ruined now. Although there's that guy that
(31:28):
I'm sure you may know him. He does all neon over.
Speaker 1 (31:36):
Western Alf. I'm trying to picture it. Where was it?
Speaker 2 (31:39):
I think instead of Corn, I think it's Western Alf.
Speaker 1 (31:42):
Oh it's still there, right, yeah, it's right across the street.
It's right across the street from Trader Joe's and right
as a gas station right there too, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:55):
Yes, okay, And anyway, anyway, what they did is they
made a big deal either they didn't want to do
the knee on over so it ended up in the
Marble Science shop and I never pursued it. But you know,
you need huge trucks and you need a lot of money.
But getting back to crack a barrel, I believe. Oh,
by the way, Duncan's closed a lot of during COVID,
(32:17):
and if we can believe it, they never closed, and
they I mean closed, they actually closed. As soon as
I saw that, I said, this is serious, this is duncan. Yeah. Yeah,
But anyway, I believe I believe Cracker Barrel went announced
today they were going back to the original.
Speaker 1 (32:37):
Yeah, that's correct.
Speaker 2 (32:38):
Yes, Now a little history on that is now that
GM they called in, she's probably gonna walk away with
ten million dollars at the severance.
Speaker 1 (32:48):
Right who who you tell you about?
Speaker 2 (32:52):
They called in a new GM to redesign the phone.
Speaker 1 (32:55):
Oh, I don't know. You can think that the new
GM there redesign the sign. We'll get fired for this.
Speaker 2 (33:03):
Not fired, but there's always some clause. If I get
let go, it's uh, you give me five. But anyway,
I think what you do, Cracker Barrel, it's an old
fashioned look. And you must remember in the nineties they
started doing fifties nightclubs. I worked in a couple of them.
(33:23):
Besided doing fifties nightclubs. A lot of them have cut
back because the trending with the college kids, they're not
as interested in that. And I think the decorps has
a lot to do with it, and in uh in
the crack a barrel. I mean, I don't know if
it's going to stop someone to go in, I mean
even to walk in and go oh, I don't like that.
(33:45):
I don't like the signs from the parties or the
signs from I don't know if that's going to stop people.
Speaker 1 (33:51):
Well, here's the thing. Our guest Scott did say that
nostalgia has a shelf life because before long, right before long,
then thee is going to be nothing because no one's
going to be alive that remembers the old timy days.
So it's not it doesn't.
Speaker 2 (34:05):
Matter, that's exactly it. And I think the foods for
I'm only cutting in because I know you're gonna cut
me off. The fact I got off, I got cut
off with Beaver the other night. I still got to
talk to him about some stones memory memorabile that I
have because my family's made it clear anything in my
house is getting thrown in the dumb stuff.
Speaker 1 (34:24):
So I say, do you have stones memorabilia?
Speaker 2 (34:27):
Yeah, I have the from seventy nine seventy five. I
have an Manila folder of the whole aspect of putting
on the show at the garden because I know someone
who took the guard in the past, you know, was
on the demolish crew and the beach boards. It shows
the load of stage, it shows how many tickets are
(34:48):
sold and so on. So you know, written down by hand,
and I got a few other things.
Speaker 1 (34:53):
But yeah, he's going to be very interested in that.
Do you know how to get you? Do you know
how to get in touch with him?
Speaker 2 (35:01):
Yeah? I looked at it the other night. I also
have a big, big, five foot high thing of the
lip the lips made out of sty form. I think
it may have come on out of towel records, but
incidentally I bought it off with Craiglist from someone who
worked at CEZ at the time. Wow, do you know
(35:22):
how that comes through Beab's hands.
Speaker 1 (35:25):
I don't know how you get in touch with him,
but figure it out. I mean, he's out there. David Bieber.
The reason we mentioned that is because David Bieber was
a guest last week. He is a cultural archivist. I
got to explain. I got to explain who he is
to everybody so that they understand.
Speaker 2 (35:40):
Where he's located and is likely boxed property. Right.
Speaker 1 (35:44):
I don't know, you'll find him. He's famous figure it out.
He may very well be interested in that cool stuff. Michael.
I love the car. I really appreciate it. Thank you
so much. Yes, David Bieber was a guest, and he
brought him what was artifacts from the Boston seventies, and
(36:04):
I wanted him to have artifacts that we would tell
stories about that would bring us back to Boston in
the seventies, and he did. He brought back some sport,
he brought some sports stuff, some rock stuff, some political stuff,
and he'll be back again. So I will take a
break down, and I have ten minutes to chat with you. You
can call if you like. I'd love to hear from you,
but I can certainly entertain you for eight minutes if
(36:29):
you don't call. Either way. On WBZ, You're.
Speaker 2 (36:32):
On Night Side with Dan Ray on WBZ, Boston's news radio.
Speaker 1 (36:37):
All right, my friends, I have five minutes, just un
to five minutes. I want to take ninety seconds of
that to tell you a couple of things. Number One,
if you should miss any part of any of these
segments on Nightside, or maybe you missed the whole night,
you can still hear them. All is not lost. Just
google Nightside on demand, where you find the podcast Rob
(37:02):
Brooks working the Wheel in Mass Control pops them up
right away. So that's night Side on Demand and for
the last for the last weekend. This week some of
the things that you might have missed was a really
cool conversation with a reporter who's live from ki Ukraine
who just stepped out of his air raid shelter after
(37:26):
a night of being bombed and missiled and droned and
attacked by the Russians to tell us what it was
really like over there. And by the way, one thing
he did tell us is the Russians are hurting a
lot more than you hear in the Western media. And
that is available right there at Nightside on Demand. His
(37:47):
name was Jason J. Smart And oh yes, we did
a live thing where these persons, these guys who work
out on the harbor on boats taking the harbor pilots
out to the big ships so they can bring this
big ships into the harbor and take them out. That
(38:10):
we talk to the people who delivered those harbor pilots
to the ships and the process of getting them on
the ship while the ship is moving very dangerous. That
was live from Boston Harbor. That is also available to
hear it nightside on demand and as far as I
go personally, you can, you know, get in contact with
(38:32):
my social media by going to BRADLEYJ dot org b
r A d l e y jy dot org and
there you can access Yeah, there's links to everything. My
travel channel on YouTube with like one hundred and fifty destinations,
that's a lot, my original music, what else all the
(38:53):
stuff and my social media, my Instagram, my Facebook, et cetera.
If you want to join me on that. So it's
brad J b r A, d L y jy dot
r G. We have time for Sky in California.
Speaker 9 (39:10):
Hi, Si Sky, Hi Bradley, How are you doing? First
of all, I want to say initially you're sorely missed
on the overnights from twelve to five. That was the
only thing that would get me through with entertaining conversation
intellectual you know, subject matters, and I was part of
a movement to try to return your sensibility to us.
Speaker 1 (39:33):
You were successful here I am there, you are.
Speaker 9 (39:36):
Yes, And as far as crack a bell, one day
I drove this was many years ago, from San Francisco
Bay area to Georgia and only in the Midwestern area
that I you know, and through the crackerbells, and basically
I think the theme of the cracker bells replicate the
states that they're in. So only then would you really understand.
It's kind of walking into all town Cowbo Cow Cowboys
(40:01):
Saloon restaurant and it was a lot of fun. It
was very nice and easy, you know, right?
Speaker 1 (40:06):
So have you have they changed? And have you been
in a new designed restaurant?
Speaker 2 (40:12):
No?
Speaker 9 (40:12):
No, I just moved back from Canton to back to
Napa Valley, so I'm basically doing the moving process.
Speaker 2 (40:17):
Still.
Speaker 9 (40:18):
The other question I had real quick, This has nothing
to do with it. Are used to hosting the City
Winey Winery?
Speaker 1 (40:26):
Yeah, there is a show done by my colleague Shot
you there, who used to work with me at WBC
and which is gone now. But yes, we do them
instead of monthly, though at City Winery it's quarterly. The
next ones in Uptown. I think it's I think it
celebrates John Lennon and I don't know the exact day. Yes,
I am the MC. I introduced those guys and it's
(40:48):
all about the Beatles. If you're a Beatles fanatica you'll love.
Speaker 9 (40:52):
Oh I did meet you there a couple of times
I was with Frank Sky and Frank.
Speaker 1 (40:56):
Oh all right, well I hope you can get back.
Speaker 9 (41:00):
I don't know, probably not. I'm gonna stay here in
California for a while, but yeah, anyway, it was wonderful
to hear you back again.
Speaker 1 (41:08):
Thank you Sky, appreciate it. Who kind of you all
are wonderful. I had a blast. I hope you'll join
me tomorrow night on nights Side on WBZ news Radio
ten thirty
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