Carls Jr. Coming to Florida

[roadman65]

https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/carls-jr-to-open-first-florida-restaurant-in-doral-in-2023/3070956/

Considering their sister store Hardee's has the Southeast market why not open another Hardee's?

[Max Rockatansky]

Reads to me as though there might be some interest in gradually phasing out the Hardee's brand.  Modern Hardee's is basically just Carls Jr. with a slightly different facade. 

[roadman65]

Reads to me as though there might be some interest in gradually phasing out the Hardee's brand.  Modern Hardee's is basically just Carls Jr. with a slightly different facade. 

Sort of like Rally's becoming Checkers.  I believe the parent company is slowly phasing Rally's out to be Checkers in that fashion.

[Max Rockatansky]

When I was a kid I recall Hardee's used to sell boxes of fried chicken.  This could be nostalgia, but I recall liking their recipe a lot more than KFC.

[74/171FAN]

When I was a kid I recall Hardee's used to sell boxes of fried chicken.  This could be nostalgia, but I recall liking their recipe a lot more than KFC.

Right.  It was weird for me when I was young to see Hardee's advertising "The Six-Dollar Burger".  Now Hardee's is mainly burgers.

[roadman65]

When I was a kid I recall Hardee's used to sell boxes of fried chicken.  This could be nostalgia, but I recall liking their recipe a lot more than KFC.

They did. Theirs was better than KFC. Then they axed it along with closing some locations. I think that's when Carl JR's acquired them.

[The Nature Boy]

Reads to me as though there might be some interest in gradually phasing out the Hardee's brand.  Modern Hardee's is basically just Carls Jr. with a slightly different facade.

In fairness though, Florida has other chains that are popular in other parts of the country. Cumberland Farms is basically only in New England and Florida and Wawa moved to Florida before it moved anywhere else in the Southeast. It seems like brands embrace Florida as a place where transplants congregate.

I wouldn't peg Florida as the place where people from Carl's Jr. Country would relocate, I would think Texas, but maybe there's some market research I don't know about.

[Big John]

When I was a kid I recall Hardee's used to sell boxes of fried chicken.  This could be nostalgia, but I recall liking their recipe a lot more than KFC.

Right.  It was weird for me when I was young to see Hardee's advertising "The Six-Dollar Burger".  Now Hardee's is mainly burgers.

And they would now charge over 6 dollars for it.

[Max Rockatansky]

Reads to me as though there might be some interest in gradually phasing out the Hardee's brand.  Modern Hardee's is basically just Carls Jr. with a slightly different facade.

In fairness though, Florida has other chains that are popular in other parts of the country. Cumberland Farms is basically only in New England and Florida and Wawa moved to Florida before it moved anywhere else in the Southeast. It seems like brands embrace Florida as a place where transplants congregate.

I wouldn't peg Florida as the place where people from Carl's Jr. Country would relocate, I would think Texas, but maybe there's some market research I don't know about.

Having lived/worked in Florida and worked in Texas I've found them both be similar in a lot of ways that might not be initially intuitive.  Texas doesn't really become what popular perception has it being until west of San Antonio or along the border.

[74/171FAN]

Reads to me as though there might be some interest in gradually phasing out the Hardee's brand.  Modern Hardee's is basically just Carls Jr. with a slightly different facade.

In fairness though, Florida has other chains that are popular in other parts of the country. Cumberland Farms is basically only in New England and Florida and Wawa moved to Florida before it moved anywhere else in the Southeast. It seems like brands embrace Florida as a place where transplants congregate.

I wouldn't peg Florida as the place where people from Carl's Jr. Country would relocate, I would think Texas, but maybe there's some market research I don't know about.

I remember seeing Cumby's on my Florida Trip back in March along US 192 in Melbourne, and I was honestly shocked.  The only other one I saw was on FL A1A near Cape Canaveral.

[roadman65]

Reads to me as though there might be some interest in gradually phasing out the Hardee's brand.  Modern Hardee's is basically just Carls Jr. with a slightly different facade.

In fairness though, Florida has other chains that are popular in other parts of the country. Cumberland Farms is basically only in New England and Florida and Wawa moved to Florida before it moved anywhere else in the Southeast. It seems like brands embrace Florida as a place where transplants congregate.

I wouldn't peg Florida as the place where people from Carl's Jr. Country would relocate, I would think Texas, but maybe there's some market research I don't know about.

I remember seeing Cumby's on my Florida Trip back in March along US 192 in Melbourne, and I was honestly shocked.  The only other one I saw was on FL A1A near Cape Canaveral.

The market for Cumberland Farms is Brevard County. You won't find them in cities like Orlando, Tampa,  Miami, etc. pretty much in and around the Space Coast.

[Rothman]

Reads to me as though there might be some interest in gradually phasing out the Hardee's brand.  Modern Hardee's is basically just Carls Jr. with a slightly different facade.

In fairness though, Florida has other chains that are popular in other parts of the country. Cumberland Farms is basically only in New England and Florida and Wawa moved to Florida before it moved anywhere else in the Southeast. It seems like brands embrace Florida as a place where transplants congregate.

I wouldn't peg Florida as the place where people from Carl's Jr. Country would relocate, I would think Texas, but maybe there's some market research I don't know about.

I remember seeing Cumby's on my Florida Trip back in March along US 192 in Melbourne, and I was honestly shocked.  The only other one I saw was on FL A1A near Cape Canaveral.

The market for Cumberland Farms is Brevard County. You won't find them in cities like Orlando, Tampa,  Miami, etc. pretty much in and around the Space Coast.

Give it time.

[Dirt Roads]

When I was a kid I recall Hardee's used to sell boxes of fried chicken.  This could be nostalgia, but I recall liking their recipe a lot more than KFC.

Right.  It was weird for me when I was young to see Hardee's advertising "The Six-Dollar Burger".  Now Hardee's is mainly burgers.

They did. Theirs was better than KFC. Then they axed it along with closing some locations. I think that's when Carl JR's acquired them.

It was called the "Revolution of 2003", and Hardees dropped a lot of products like roast beef and fish sandwiches (which they still offer during Lent).  But I had no idea that Hardees dropped fried chicken, since they still sell fried chicken here in its homestate of North Carolina.  But we quit getting fried chicken there when they dropped the normal side dishes back in 2003.  Except for the occasional chicken tenders, for which you don't need green beans, baked beans, mac-and-cheese and cole slaw.  (For the record, Hardees still has those huge hot dogs.  But like many West Virginians and North Carolinians, I quit eating hot dogs there when they dropped the cole slaw).

[Big John]

^^ Hardee's still offer roast beef sandwiches in Wisconsin.

[Dough4872]

Reads to me as though there might be some interest in gradually phasing out the Hardee's brand.  Modern Hardee's is basically just Carls Jr. with a slightly different facade.

There are slight differences between the two chains. Also Hardee's places more emphasis on breakfast while Carl's Jr. places more emphasis on lunch/dinner.

[CtrlAltDel]

Reads to me as though there might be some interest in gradually phasing out the Hardee's brand.  Modern Hardee's is basically just Carls Jr. with a slightly different facade.

The Carl's Jr. name has always struck me as kind of weird, and so if they were finally going to consolidate the brands, I really thought that they'd lean to Hardee's.

[Dirt Roads]

^^ Hardee's still offer roast beef sandwiches in Wisconsin.

Sign me up for dozen.   

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Reads to me as though there might be some interest in gradually phasing out the Hardee's brand.  Modern Hardee's is basically just Carls Jr. with a slightly different facade.

There are slight differences between the two chains. Also Hardee's places more emphasis on breakfast while Carl's Jr. places more emphasis on lunch/dinner.

It's kind of an example of the stereotype that flyover country people tend to be more "meat and potatoes" folks while coastal people tend to be more, well, whatever the opposite of that is.

When I tried Carl's in 2020 I felt the base quality of burger patty was inferior to Hardee's, which I think is because the default patty at Hardee's is the angus patty, while Carl's only has the angus for select burgers.

[Big John]

It's kind of an example of the stereotype that flyover country people tend to be more "meat and potatoes" folks while coastal people tend to be more, well, whatever the opposite of that is.

foodie

[Scott5114]

Reads to me as though there might be some interest in gradually phasing out the Hardee's brand.  Modern Hardee's is basically just Carls Jr. with a slightly different facade.

The Carl's Jr. name has always struck me as kind of weird, and so if they were finally going to consolidate the brands, I really thought that they'd lean to Hardee's.

My wife and I have taken to calling it Small Carl's.

[formulanone]

Reads to me as though there might be some interest in gradually phasing out the Hardee's brand.  Modern Hardee's is basically just Carls Jr. with a slightly different facade.

In fairness though, Florida has other chains that are popular in other parts of the country. Cumberland Farms is basically only in New England and Florida and Wawa moved to Florida before it moved anywhere else in the Southeast. It seems like brands embrace Florida as a place where transplants congregate.

I wouldn't peg Florida as the place where people from Carl's Jr. Country would relocate, I would think Texas, but maybe there's some market research I don't know about.

I remember seeing Cumby's on my Florida Trip back in March along US 192 in Melbourne, and I was honestly shocked.  The only other one I saw was on FL A1A near Cape Canaveral.

The market for Cumberland Farms is Brevard County. You won't find them in cities like Orlando, Tampa,  Miami, etc. pretty much in and around the Space Coast.

Give it time.

Cumberland Farms have a handful of locations in Broward and Palm Beach Counties, dating back to at least the 1980s. Some are only convenience stores without gas pumps.

Of course, lots of Northeastern transplants/visitors in that area.

[gonealookin]

My wife and I have taken to calling it Small Carl's.

Which is exactly what it was and why it's named that way.  Carl Karcher had some barbecue places, saw what McDonald's was doing and decided to get into the burger business with some smaller restaurants.

I thought Carl's Jr. was one of the "good guys" in the fast food genre (in spite of Mr. Karcher's politics which I did not care for) as long as Carl himself was actively involved in the management.  They were a couple steps above the rest as far as delivering a quality product.  Then the corporate suits took over the operation and the quality went pretty quickly downhill, to where now there's no real difference between them and the rest.  The food looks awesome in the TV commercials, but order that burger in one of the restaurants and be deeply disappointed in the sad presentation.

If I pull off the Interstate at Exit 145, I'm probably looking for In-N-Out, Chick-Fil-A or possibly Popeye's.  The rest of 'em, including Carl's Jr., no thanks.

[vdeane]

Reads to me as though there might be some interest in gradually phasing out the Hardee's brand.  Modern Hardee's is basically just Carls Jr. with a slightly different facade.

The Carl's Jr. name has always struck me as kind of weird, and so if they were finally going to consolidate the brands, I really thought that they'd lean to Hardee's.

The Carl's Jr. name has to stick around for people to go broke buying their EXTRA BIG-ASS FRIES in the future.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5d7SaO0JAHk

[Takumi]

I think there are minor menu differences between Carl's Jr and Hardee's even now, based on regional preferences. Watching the occasional Dodgers game, they advertise a Diablo burger at Carl's Jr for $6.66. I can't see that going down well in Hardee's territory.

[Big John]

I think there are minor menu differences between Carl's Jr and Hardee's even now, based on regional preferences. Watching the occasional Dodgers game, they advertise a Diablo burger at Carl's Jr for $6.66. I can't see that going down well in Hardee's territory.

There was a Carl Jr's ad that was really selling sex in the way it was portraying a burger. Then they made it into a Hardee's ad and there was a bunch of backlash.