Carl N. Karcher, Founder of Carl's Jr., Dies at 90

Posted by Adam Kuban, January 14, 2008 at 3:45 PM

The California man took turned a $325 investment in a hot dog cart into one of the largest burger chains in the Western U.S.:

Mr. Karcher, a deeply religious father of 12, was famous in the fast-food industry for his rags-to-riches story — a tale that was tainted in later years by an insider trading scandal and feuds with his board that led to his eventual demise as chief executive.
Mr. Karcher was working as a bread-truck driver in South Los Angeles when he noticed the large number of hot dog stands in the neighborhood and saw a business opportunity.
He borrowed $311 on the 1941 Plymouth Super Deluxe he owned with his new wife, Margaret, added the rest in cash and bought his first pushcart hot dog stand.

CKE Restaurants, which owns Carl's Jr., has a Karcher tribute on its site.

2 Comments Favorite this! (0)

Tags: Carl's Jr., chain burgers, obituaries

2 Comments:

In the '80s I co-produced many training videos for Carl's Jr. (CKE/Carl Karcher Enterprises). Unlike McDonald's, which had their own shooting stores/studios, we had to shoot in open restaurants (loads of fun!). Often, Carl would show up and hand out free lunch cards to folks who were in our sight lines. He was a large man who always seemed to be "on stage."

Also, he was a very devout Catholic and was knighted into the Order of Malta, one of the highest honors a layperson can attain.

pgsvensk at 3:15PM on 01/15/08

Among the regional and larger chains, Carls Jr. seems to stand out a little. While formulaic in approach upon first glance, the Bacon Western Cheeseburger and the Jalapeno burger they offer are just enough deviation from the norm to keep it interesting. For a large chain, I would spend my cash at Carls over the other big three. Cheers, TB.

texas blues at 9:20PM on 01/17/08

Add a comment:

Previewing your comment:

HTML Hints

Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>

Comment Guidelines

Post whatever you want, just keep it pleasant. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.

If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.

Burger by Location

Browse the Archives

@ahamburgertoday on Twitter

A Hamburger Today is part of the Foodblog Ad Network. To advertise on AHT or across a network of food-related weblogs, visit Blogads.com.

A Hamburger Today- aht.seriouseats.com