Carl's Jr/Hardees "killing" Happy Star?

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Carl's Jr/Hardees "killing" Happy Star?

Post by jamcool »

I have noticed that Carl's Jr/Hardee's is using a new "faceless" star logo in it's TV ads. Does this mean the end of "Happy Star"? If so, there are a lot of Carl's sites in California that will need new signage.

Also, who the Hell is Carl Hardee?
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Re: Carl's Jr/Hardees "killing" Happy Star?

Post by CalItalian »

Yes, they have a new black and yellow logo. They're going in a different direction. Women, families will be their focus not men. Do remember the corporate headquarters is moving from California to Nashville. Carl Hardee is just a made up name so they can advertise the two chains nationally. Hardee's is only in name since it adopted almost everything that Carl's Jr. has always been.
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Re: Carl's Jr/Hardees "killing" Happy Star?

Post by BillyGr »

The two parts of the name (Carl and Hardee) come from the two founders of what were separate chains:

Carl Karcher and Wilber Hardee

One went with the first name, the other with the last.

Also interesting: Hardee was born in Aug 1918, Karcher in Jan 1917
They both died in 2008, Carl in Jan and Wilber in June
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Re: Carl's Jr/Hardees "killing" Happy Star?

Post by storewanderer »

I ate in a Hardees yesterday and it is really not entirely like Carl's. The menu is kind of different. The ingredients are the same and different.

For instance at Hardees there is no Western, they do not have the Western Sauce that goes on a Carl's Western, there is no zucchini, there are no criss cut fries, there is no Santa Fe Sauce so no Santa Fe Chicken Sandwich.

Hardees has both regular and spicy chicken tenders (I think these are the same as Carl's, the regular ones).

Some Hardees offer fried chicken (bone in). Some offer roast beef sandwiches. Some offer curly fries. The one I was at yesterday did not offer any of those things.

But Hardees has a "hot ham and cheese" sandwich.

Hardees offers "beer battered onion rings" while Carl's does not, Carls offers some other kind of onion ring.

The "California Classic" at Carl's (seems to be a bit of a copy of the In N Out Double Double) uses a small plain bun while the "Hardee Classic" at Hardees (same sandwich generally) uses a large sesame seed bun. All of the buns at Hardees are different than the buns at Carl's.

Hardees sells Mexican Food under the "Red Burrito" label. The basic ground beef taco, the ground beef seems to be the same one used at Carl's "Green Burrito." However at Hardees the taco shell is a pre-packaged thing whereas at Carl's the shell is freshly fried in store. Also at Hardees the cheese on the taco is a standard thickness shredded cheddar while the cheese on the taco at Carl's is a finely shredded cheddar jack blend.

Also at the "Red Burrito" at Hardees the spanish rice served is a traditional red/green bell pepper flavored rice. At "Green Burrito" at Carl's, the rice served is a cilantro lime rice.

I suspect there are many other "the same but different" situations between the two menus on other items as well. The Hardee's menu has a lot fewer burgers than Carl's.

Operationally we know Carl's has historically been stronger. But I have noticed quite a bit of slipping in the operation of Carl's locations the past few years as they have refranchised various corporate locations in California (they were tip top well run as corporate locations, now as franchise locations, not so much) and keep making menu changes/additions that make it harder for the operators. Hardee's, on the other hand, has gone through so much operational turmoil over the years, it seems like they are running better now than they used to; the locations that have managed to stay open, anyway.
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Re: Carl's Jr/Hardees "killing" Happy Star?

Post by pseudo3d »

I ate at a Carl's Jr. about a year ago in Texas, wasn't too impressed. Service sucked (long wait...even if they used "don't make it until you order, that's bullshit--I've had faster service at Jack in the Box restaurants consistently") and while using sweet pickles instead of the traditional more dill pickle used in the fast food gave it distinction, it wasn't really worth it for a return trip when there are other options available. (That being said, I would've liked to see one near me).
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Re: Carl's Jr/Hardees "killing" Happy Star?

Post by HelloOutThere »

Good write up on the Carl's / Hardees identity refresh here: http://www.underconsideration.com/brand ... dsunny.php

Interesting to note their shift in strategy away from boobs and burgers. They even made a mini movie, "The Return of Carl Hardee Sr.," which can be seen at the above link, to signal this shift. Love how they portray Carl Jr. as a typical mid-aughts d-bag. The production value of that video is quite high, yet I haven't seen it anywhere on mainstream TV or even in online ads. Seems a waste of resources.

As for Carl's, haven't been to one in years, but there's one down the street from my office building that always seems to do good business.
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Re: Carl's Jr/Hardees "killing" Happy Star?

Post by storewanderer »

Carl's service is slow for no good reason. I have routinely had slow service at Carl's yet still received lukewarm food. I understand Carl's has largely flopped in Texas (again)...

I have noticed there are certain markets where Carl's seems to do very well; Salt Lake City, UT they do well, Portland, OR they do well, Sacramento, CA they do well. Then there are other markets where they seem to have very low traffic but still stay in business, like Arizona, Denver, Oklahoma, Las Vegas, some scattered CA markets, etc.

In my immediate market, Carl's has simply priced itself out of the realm for me. I am in Reno but the Carl's here are owned by someone from Los Angeles who seems to think this market warrants that sort of pricing, and the high end of it at that. So the BBQ Chicken Sandwich is $5.79 (combo $8.79). The Western (single regular Western) is $4.99 (combo $7.99). All Kid's Meals are priced at 4.99. These prices are just too high. In Portland or Salt Lake City the chicken is barely over $4 and frankly that is all it is worth for a piece of meat, some bbq sauce, a lettuce slice, and a tomato slice.

I thought more about the happy face being taken off of the star and I think that is a really bad idea. That is their brand. The unique happy face star. Oh well. Fast food chains and oil companies with constant "reimagings" help keep sign companies busy.
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Re: Carl's Jr/Hardees "killing" Happy Star?

Post by jamcool »

Wendy's upgraded the Wendy image a few years ago yet most of the restaraunts still use the original signage. And how many KFCs still use the 80s-90s image?
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Re: Carl's Jr/Hardees "killing" Happy Star?

Post by storewanderer »

The updated Wendy is not much different from the old Wendy. Both are obviously connected to Wendy's I think, or at least in my opinion.

Carl's went from having a unique star clearly connected to its brand, to a generic star. The generic plain yellow star means nothing, it has no identity, no feeling, no personality. Sterile, generic, boring, zero connection to the brand at all.

I won't even get started on my comments about "Carl Hardee."

I don't think ad campaigns or political moves are really the root of potential problems for the Carl's or Hardee's brand. Restaurant level execution and pricing are serious concerns and no ad campaign can address those things.
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Re: Carl's Jr/Hardees "killing" Happy Star?

Post by Super S »

Carl's Jr. is one of those chains that I liked at first (about 10-15 years ago) but the last few visits have been mediocre at best. It's one of those places that I might stop at if nothing else is close by, but nothing I would go out of my way for.
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