Carl's Jr. facts for kids
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Logo used since September 22, 2022.
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A Carl's Jr. in Rancho Cordova, California on September 20, 2008.
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Formerly
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Carl's Drive-In Barbecue (1941–1956) |
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Fast-food restaurants |
| Founded | July 17, 1941 Anaheim, California, U.S. |
| Founders | Carl Karcher Margaret Karcher |
| Headquarters | 6700 Tower Circle Franklin, Tennessee 37067, U.S. |
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Number of locations
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1,062 (US domestic, 2021) 2,124 (global, 2021) 3,186 (Total) |
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Area served
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Worldwide |
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Key people
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Caleb Hubbard (president & CEO) |
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| Parent | CKE Restaurants (1966–present) |
Carl's Jr. is a popular American fast-food restaurant chain. It is known for its delicious charbroiled hamburgers. The company is part of CKE Restaurant Holdings, Inc.. You can find Carl's Jr. restaurants in many countries around the world. These include places in North and South America, Asia, Europe, Africa, and Oceania.
In 2016, a magazine called Entrepreneur ranked Carl's Jr. as one of the top 500 franchises in the United States. This ranking looks at how strong, stable, and fast-growing a business is. As of 2016, Carl's Jr. and its sister company, Hardee's, had over 3,600 restaurants. They were located in 44 U.S. states and 38 other countries.
Contents
History of Carl's Jr.
Carl's Jr. started with a simple idea in 1941. A truck driver named Carl Karcher and his wife, Margaret, borrowed some money. They used it to buy a hot dog cart in Los Angeles, California. They sold hot dogs, chili dogs, and tamales from their cart.
Within a few years, the Karchers owned four hot dog stands. In 1945, they moved to Anaheim, California. There, they opened their first full restaurant. They called it Carl's Drive-In Barbecue. In 1946, they added hamburgers to their menu.
In 1956, Carl Karcher opened two smaller restaurants. He called them Carl's Jr. because they were smaller versions of his drive-in restaurant. These first Carl's Jr. locations were in Anaheim and Brea. By the end of the 1950s, there were four Carl's Jr. restaurants. Carl's younger brother, Donald F. Karcher, helped manage them.
By the 1960s, Carl Karcher had 24 restaurants in Southern California. The company officially became "Carl Karcher Enterprises, Inc." in 1966. They started to expand the chain quickly in 1968. Their menu focused on fast service. It featured charbroiled hamburgers, hot dogs, fries, and milkshakes.
By 1975, there were over 100 Carl's Jr. restaurants. They began to open locations in Northern California. In 1977, Carl's Jr. was one of the first fast-food chains to offer salad bars. The first Carl's Jr. outside of California opened in Las Vegas in 1979. By the end of the 1970s, the company's sales were over $100 million.
In 1980, the company hired its 10,000th employee. In 1981, Carl Karcher Enterprises became a publicly traded company. This meant people could buy shares of the company. In 1984, Carl's Jr. started allowing people to open their own Carl's Jr. restaurants as a franchise. The menu grew to include the Western Bacon Cheeseburger and breakfast items. They also added charbroiled chicken sandwiches and self-service soda fountains. By the end of the 1980s, sales reached over $480 million. They also opened their first international restaurants. Carl's Jr. was also one of the first chains to let customers pay with debit cards.
In 1988, Carl Karcher and his family faced some legal issues. These were related to how they sold company stock. Karcher reached an agreement to settle these issues.
Carl's Jr. had some challenges expanding into states like Arizona and Texas. However, they found success in Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. In the 1990s, Carl Karcher and the company's leaders had disagreements. These were about marketing and business choices. Carl Karcher was removed as chairman in 1993. After this, the company changed its approach. They simplified the menu, lowered prices, and started new advertising.
In 1994, a new management team took over. Carl Karcher Enterprises became a part of CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc.. In 1997, CKE Restaurants bought Hardee's. Hardee's is another large restaurant chain.
In 2001, Carl's Jr. launched its "Thickburger" line. Hardee's followed with similar burgers in 2003. In 2002, CKE Restaurants bought the company that owned the Green Burrito brand. Now, some Carl's Jr. and Hardee's restaurants also sell Green Burrito items. In 2005, Carl's Jr. started offering hand-scooped ice cream shakes.
On January 11, 2008, Carl Karcher, the founder, passed away at age 90. Many Carl's Jr. restaurants lowered their flags to honor him.
In the 2010s, Carl's Jr. and Hardee's introduced Hand-Breaded Chicken Tenders. In 2011, they became the first national fast-food chains to offer Charbroiled Turkey Burgers. Also in 2011, Carl's Jr. started offering made-from-scratch biscuits.
In July 2010, CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc. was bought by a company called Apollo. This allowed CKE to keep growing as a private company. In November 2013, another company, Roark Capital Group, agreed to buy CKE from Apollo.
In December 2014, Carl's Jr. introduced the All-Natural Burger. It featured a beef patty from grass-fed cows. These cows had no added hormones or antibiotics. This was a first for a major fast-food chain. In December 2015, they also introduced the All-Natural Turkey Burger.
In 2017, CKE tried to change some Hardee's locations in New York to Carl's Jr. restaurants. However, these stores later closed. In 2018, CKE decided to make Carl's Jr. and Hardee's feel more like separate brands. They remodeled some Hardee's and created different ad campaigns for each. While they shared similar menus, they planned to make them more unique over time.
In January 2019, Carl's Jr. added a Beyond Meat patty to its menu. This made them one of the first large chains to offer a plant-based burger. Other chains soon followed. However, in February 2024, Carl's Jr. locations in Bakersfield, California, removed the Beyond Burger from their menus.
In March 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, all restaurants temporarily stopped indoor dining. Customers could still order through drive-thru, pick-up, or take-away services.
Carl's Jr. Around the World
Carl's Jr. has expanded to many countries. In November 2015, they opened their 200th restaurant in Mexico. They first entered the Mexican market in 1991. In August 2016, Carl's Jr. opened its first location in India.
As of 2017, Carl's Jr. and Hardee's together had over 3,600 restaurants. These were in 44 U.S. states and 39 other countries. Some of the countries where Carl's Jr. is present include Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Denmark, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore, Spain, and Vietnam.
Giving Back: Philanthropy
CKE, the parent company of Carl's Jr. and Hardee's, holds an annual fundraising campaign called "Stars for Heroes." This campaign raises money in stores to help U.S. military veterans and their families.
Sharing Locations: Co-branding
In some Western U.S. locations, Carl's Jr. has restaurants that also sell items from its Green Burrito brand. This is called "co-branding." It allows companies to offer more choices to customers without building entirely new restaurants. Other companies, like Yum! Brands, also use this strategy with their different restaurant chains.
Advertising Campaigns
For a while, Carl's Jr. and Hardee's had separate advertisements. But then they started to use similar ads for both chains. These ads often featured famous people. Celebrities like Paris Hilton, Kate Upton, Kim Kardashian, and Ronda Rousey appeared in their commercials.
In 1997, commercials with NBA player Dennis Rodman were temporarily stopped. This happened after he had some issues during games. His commercials later resumed, but then were pulled permanently after more issues.
Celebrity Campaigns
In May 2005, Carl's Jr. launched an ad for its "Spicy BBQ Six Dollar Burger." This commercial featured Paris Hilton. It was a very talked-about ad. Later, in January 2015, Carl's Jr. released another commercial that gained a lot of attention. It featured model Charlotte McKinney advertising the new All Natural Burger. These ads were often discussed by critics.
By 2013, Carl's Jr. and Hardee's began advertising together more often. This was because they sold many of the same food items.
Carl Hardee Sr. Campaign
In March 2017, Carl's Jr. introduced a new character in its commercials: Carl Hardee Sr. He was played by actor Charles Esten. The ads showed Carl Hardee Sr. returning to the office to find his son, Carl Jr. This campaign marked a change in the company's advertising. They wanted to focus more on the food itself. They also aimed to compete with other popular burger places like Five Guys and In-N-Out Burger. This campaign also brought new, modern logos for both Carl's Jr. and Hardee's.
The Call of Carl's Campaign
In 2018, CKE started creating separate ad campaigns for Hardee's and Carl's Jr. again. For Carl's Jr., they launched "The Call of Carl's" campaign. This campaign featured the voice of the famous actor Matthew McConaughey.
See also
- List of hamburger restaurants
- Hardee's
