I think they could do a funny ad campaign where Uncle Herschel wakes up from his nap and is like, "what in tarnation is going on around here?"

It’s fine if they want to clean up the logo on the signage. But a brand has a history, and a company needs to understand what exactly their customers are attached to. There’s a way to retain the Uncle Herschel character within the brand — maybe he makes amusing homespun commentary throughout the menu. Maybe he’s on t shirts etc. A brand isn’t a logo or a sign or a type font — it’s something that exists as a living thing inside the minds of your audience. The logo is simply a trigger that activates the buried emotions. Because of this, any logo change needs to be an evolution of what’s come before — not a hard stop. If it’s too abrupt, you risk alienating your loyal customers as you reach for new ones. And that is a needlessly risky trade off.