New Carl's Jr. Restaurant Tops Sales Record in Tough Economy

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Porterville, Calif. Unit Sets U.S. Sales Mark With $107K in First Week, Just Seven Weeks After Previous Record Set in Marysville, Wash.

Carpinteria, Calif.,(// BUSINESS WIRE //) -- For the second time in just seven weeks, a newly opened Carl's Jr.(R) has set a company sales record, as the Porterville, Calif. restaurant posted $107,638 in sales in its first week. The previous Carl's Jr. one-week sales record of $105,063, was set in Marysville, Wash., last month following its Dec. 9, 2008 opening, and that restaurant went on to break the first-month record as well. "Despite a tough economy, Carl's Jr. is setting sales records in new markets, continuing to grow its unit count and giving customers what they want - premium quality burgers at fair prices," said Andy Puzder, CEO of CKE Restaurants, Inc., parent company of Carl's Jr. and Hardee's(R) chains. "Posting back-to-back sales records in less than two months is remarkable. Wall Street seems to need a few success stories to shake it out of the doldrums, and we're thrilled to be able to provide some."

For fiscal 2009, Carl's Jr. opened a total of 17 company-operated units - an increase from 16 units opened in fiscal 2008 and the highest level of company-operated openings since fiscal 2001. In addition, Carl's Jr. domestic franchisees opened 29 units during fiscal 2009, equaling their second-highest total unit openings in the past eight years.

Rick Fortman, vice president of Carl's Jr. operations, added, "We knew there was a demand for Carl's Jr. in Porterville, but the great welcome by our customers, outstanding service from our staff, and a new sales record far exceeded our expectations. What makes this record even more impressive is that the population of Porterville is just slightly more than 45,000, and we received no guest complaints about the store during a very busy week. First Marysville, now Porterville; maybe we need to rename these towns 'Carlsjuniorville.'"

The Porterville Carl's Jr. opened for business Jan. 20 and is dual-branded with Green Burrito(R), a Mexican food brand featuring a variety of authentic menu items. The record-setting crew in Porterville is led by general manager Veronica Forner, district manager Glen Hitchrick and regional vice president Gary Zurmuhle. The restaurant employs 60 full- and part-time workers.

About Carl's Jr.

Carl's Jr. is celebrating more than 65 years in the quick-service industry. What began as a lone hot dog cart in Los Angeles, Calif. in 1941 is today an international organization that employs nearly 30,000 people worldwide. Carl's Jr. is a wholly owned subsidiary of CKE Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:CKR) of Carpinteria, Calif. As of the third fiscal quarter ended November 3, 2008, CKE Restaurants, Inc., through its subsidiaries, had a total of 3,110 franchised, licensed or company-operated restaurants in 42 states and in 14 countries, including 1,185 Carl's Jr. restaurants and 1,912 Hardee's restaurants.

SOURCE: Carl's Jr.

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