Carl's Jr. Owner Looks for Good Sites

CARPINTERIA, CA-Though CKE Restaurant’s executives did not announce major expansion plans for its chains during the third-quarter conference call, it’s not for a lack of trying, at least for the Carl’s Jr. concept. “We’re opening as many new Carl’s Jr.’s as we can find reasonable sites for that we can open them on,” said Andrew Puzder, the company’s president and CEO, during a conference call.

The Hardee’s chain has less aggressive growth plans right now, as CKE is renovating those restaurants and adding its Red Burrito Mexican concept to those units. For the full fiscal year, there are 18 to 20 new Carl’s Jr. stores planned and just six to eight Hardee’s.

To date CKE has renovated 133 Carl’s Jr. locations, or one third of its total number of company-owned units. Franchisees own about 720 additional Carl’s Jr. locations, mainly in West Coast markets. The company has renovated 63 Hardee’s, or 11% of its company-owned total. Franchisees operate some 1,300 additional Hardee’s units across the country.