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1940s
Young married couple Margaret and Carl Karcher spend their savings to buy a hot dog cart.'40s
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1940s
Carl's Drive-In BBQ opens less than five years later with hamburgers on the menu. -
1950's
Business blossoms and a southern California quick-service legend is born: Carl's Jr.® opens for business (so named because they're smaller than the Drive-In).'50s
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1950's
Customers enjoy a quick-service first: Carl's Jr.® adds a drive-through for eating on the go. -
1960's
Carl's Jr.® begins its commitment to a quality dining experience by becoming the first among quick-service restaurants to offer table service and plush, carpeted dining rooms with music.'60s
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1960's
Happy Star® becomes iconic of the Carl's Jr.® restaurants. -
1970's
Founder Carl N. Karcher opens corporate headquarters in Anaheim, California and by 1977 employs over 5,000 people in his restaurants.'70s
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1980's
Carl's Jr.® introduces instant cult favorite: the Western Bacon Cheeseburger®.'80s
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1990's
Carl's Jr.® begins dual-branding restaurants with quick-service Mexican food favorite Green Burrito®. The choice gives patrons twice as many reasons to eat out.'90s
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1990's
Carl's Jr.® makes a name for itself with memorable commercials that appeal to young, hungry guys. -
2000's
Carl's Jr.® introduces the first sit-down restaurant style burger at a quick-service restaurant: The Six Dollar Burger®.'00s
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2000's
Carl's Jr.® puts its restaurant-quality message to the test with the Fake Restaurant ad campaign, where real people pay upwards of $14 for a Six Dollar Burger® on hidden camera.
Los Angeles, 1941. Young Carl N. Karcher and his wife, Margaret, make a leap of faith and borrow $311 on their Plymouth automobile, add $15 in savings and purchase a hot dog cart.
One cart grows to four, and in less than five years, Carl's Drive-In Barbecue opens with hamburgers on the menu.
The brand continues its growth with an emphasis on quality, service and cleanliness, pioneering concepts such as partial table service and self-serve beverage bars. The introduction of the signature Six Dollar Burger™ in 2001 marks the latest Carl's Jr.® advance in the quick-service industry, confirming the chain's constant emphasis on product innovation and representing a desire to satisfy the tastes of young, hungry consumers.
On his first day in the fast-food business, Carl N. Karcher took in $14.75. For 70 years and over 1,200 restaurants later, Carl's Jr.®
has become known as the place to go all across the West for juicy, delicious charbroiled burgers.
View a tribute to our founder
