The Hardee’s® Story

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The Hardee’s^® Story

'60s

1960s Wilber Hardee opens the first Hardee's^® restaurant in Greenville, North Carolina and offers customers "charco-broiled" hamburgers, fast service and a drive-through window.

1960s Hardee's^® gains immediate popularity and the chain grows rapidly. By the end of the decade, there are nearly 200 Hardee's^® restaurants, including an international location in Heidelberg, Germany.

'70s

1970s Hardee's^® introduces fresh, Made from Scratch™ biscuits that soon become a hallmark of the brand and remain an immensely popular menu favorite even today.

1970s Hardee's^® reaches an impressive milestone by opening its 1,000th restaurant in just 15 years of business.

'80s

1980s Hardee's^® introduces Cinnamon 'N' Raisin™ biscuits with a little help from the California Raisins. One of many high-profile endorsements Hardee's^® enjoys, the singing raisins go on to become national pop culture icons.

1980s Hardee's^® acquires the 650-unit Burger Chef chain and later opens its 2,000th restaurant.

'90s

1990s Patrons delight at the Frisco Burger™ – a tasty hamburger topped with sliced tomato, crispy bacon and melted cheese and served, of course, on sourdough toast.

1990s CKE Restaurants, Inc., a California-based restaurant company best known for its Hardee's^® subsidiary, acquires the Hardee's^® chain from Canadian company Imasco.

'00s

2000s Consumers rejoice when Hardee's^® launches the Revolution, which is marked by a new look and an innovative line of "Thickburgers^®" – premium, 100 percent Black Angus beef burgers topped with quality ingredients.

2000s The Monster Thickburger^® makes national headlines as "audacity on a bun" when it joins the now-popular line of Thickburgers^®.

2000s Hardee's^® puts its restaurant-quality message to the test with the Fake Restaurant ad campaign, where real people pay upwards of $14 for a Thickburger^® on hidden camera.

Wilber Hardee opened his first namesake restaurant in Greenville, North Carolina in 1960. Five months later he had his first franchisee and over the years his burger chain has spread to become a favorite throughout the Midwestern and Southeastern United States.

Although most folks knew Hardee's^® for its biscuits, all that changed during the Revolution of 2003: Hardee's^® decided to pare down its menu and focus on the hearty 1/3-, 1/2- and 2/3-pound Thickburger^® line. Made with 100% Angus beef, Thickburgers^® established Hardee's^® as a leader in the quick-service industry in both quality and taste.

Today, Hardee's^® forges ahead with a taste for edgy, memorable ads and delicious food-creating a fast-food experience that can't be topped this side of the Mississippi.

Hardee’s®