Question about obscene content or cursing on the air.

[michael hagerty]

Agree, Carl’s Jr. was so much better 30 years ago. What happened? It is basically a mix of McDonald’s and Burger King today. I guess it is just the standardization of fast food today. Too bad.

Carl Karcher, the founder, sold a lot of the stock after taking the company public (the SEC accused him of insider trading in 1988 and the settlement cost him a half-million in fines, with no admission of wrongdoing).

Without a controlling interest, he lost his position as CEO in a battle with the board of directors in 1993. He was 75 years old and unwilling to compromise on a lot of things. The changes came after that.

I’d disagree that it’s a mix of McDonalds and Burger King, though it has a menu item or two clearly aimed at each. It has its own taste, identifiable as Carl’s Jr. (I had my first meal there in 1964), but quality is inconsistent and has been since they threw Carl overboard.

 

[seatownmedia]

I do like their junior jalapeño burger but the menu loses me after that.

 

[michael hagerty]

I do like their jr jalapeño burger but the menu loses me after that.

A lot of the menu is stuff that’s been there forever—-Famous Star, Super Star, Western Bacon Cheeseburger…

 

[TheBigA]

Agree, Carl’s Jr. was so much better 30 years ago. What happened?

It was eclipsed by In'N'Out Burger.

 

[davideduardo]

I’d disagree that it’s a mix of McDonalds and Burger King, though it has a menu item or two clearly aimed at each. It has its own taste, identifiable as Carl’s Jr. (I had my first meal there in 1964), but quality is inconsistent and has been since they threw Carl overboard.

Much of the Carl's Junior advertising and many of the menu items, such as the 1,200 calorie burgers, are targeting 18-34 men. One ad person I know in LA said that the copy, the photography and those big burgers were all targeting the "if you can't get laid, pig out" audience.

 

[seatownmedia]

I think that is true. I guess I should say as I get older my interest in large burgers is waning. But I still enjoy a smaller burger with all the toppings. This is a new opportunity for fast food chains.

 

[davideduardo]

It was eclipsed by In'N'Out Burger.

Different target. As I just mentioned, Carl's was aimed at young men. In N Out has more of a family and couples appeal, particularly with its three item burgers-fries-shakes menu, super clean locations and wide open visible kitchen.

In N Out has been around since the late 40's, and being family owned (a sole owner today) it has kept with the original philosophy of not using frozen ingredients and making everything fresh. Their expansion is very slow because for every new area, they have to have a fresh ingredient supply chain of their own.

A double-double, fries and a vanilla shake will send me to ecstasy.

A few years ago, the huge Colombian rock star Juanes was at a K-Love LA morning show. Afterwards we got chatting as I had worked on projects in Colombia and knew a lot of his friends and I remembered him from before he was a soloist. Suddenly, he said to his new buddy, almost in a whisper, "Can you take me to In N Out? That is why I love coming to the US!" I took him, and we sat there and pigged out, both of us ordering the same thing.

 

[seatownmedia]

In and Out has displayed they will not expand. They have reached the point where expansion simply doesn’t make sense. Keeping these franchises few and far between us is part of their operational strategy. However this may change as markets open.

 

[davideduardo]

In and Out has displayed they will not expand. They have reached the point where expansion simply doesn’t make sense. Keeping these franchises few and far between us part of their of their secret sauce.

They have no franchises. All locations are company owned. And they are currently expanding across Texas, step by step. Dallas-Ft. Worth has 27 stores now, and they are moving down towards Waco and opened a couple in Houston. They skipped New Mexico, but are also opening multiple locations in the Denver metro.

After considerable litigation, they finally opened in my area in Rancho Mirage where they overturned a zoning rule about drive-throughs. They are now within a few minutes drive of everyone in the Palm Springs metro but are still planning at least one more.

 

[TheBigA]

They have no franchises. All locations are company owned. And they are currently expanding across Texas, step by step.

They have several in and around Austin. One very near UT.

 

[davideduardo]

They have several in and around Austin. One very near UT.

They started in the Dallas area, then moved south. Now they have a distribution center for Houston which can serve from Beaumont down to the LRGV. Now I can get snacks at Buc-ees and burgers at In-N-Out.

 

[michael hagerty]

Much of the Carl's Junior advertising and many of the menu items, such as the 1,200 calorie burgers, are targeting 18-34 men. One ad person I know in LA said that the copy, the photography and those big burgers were all targeting the "if you can't get laid, pig out" audience.

This, in fact, was the direction the board wanted to go that Karcher opposed.

 

[michael hagerty]

Different target. As I just mentioned, Carl's was aimed at young men. In N Out has more of a family and couples appeal, particularly with its three item burgers-fries-shakes menu, super clean locations and wide open visible kitchen.

In-N-Out and Carl's Jr. had a lot in common early on---both homegrown L.A. family owned burger places, both run by very religious men, and both with limited, simple menus---though Carl's always had a bit more variety:



Since Carl got tossed out, the focus has been on marketing rather than food. There are currently 17 burgers on their menu, plus the chicken and other items. No wonder there's no food identity.

 

[davideduardo]

In-N-Out and Carl's Jr. had a lot in common early on---both homegrown L.A. family owned burger places, both run by very religious men, and both with limited, simple menus---though Carl's always had a bit more variety:

View attachment 2604

Since Carl got tossed out, the focus has been on marketing rather than food. There are currently 17 burgers on their menu, plus the chicken and other items. No wonder there's no food identity.

And Carl himself was subject to considerable criticism for his, uh, "ethnic values".

 

[michael hagerty]

In and Out has displayed they will not expand. They have reached the point where expansion simply doesn’t make sense. Keeping these franchises few and far between us is part of their operational strategy. However this may change as markets open.

In-N-Out has been expanding. They opened 13 locations in 2020. There were 140 in the year 2000. There are now 358 and a newly-built distribution center in Southern Colorado has opened up New Mexico as a likely candidate for expansion.

 

[davideduardo]

In-N-Out has been expanding. They opened 13 locations in 2020. There were 140 in the year 2000. There are now 358 and a newly-built distribution center in Southern Colorado has opened up New Mexico as a likely candidate for expansion.

For the first time they are expanding in several areas at once: Texas, Colorado and Oregon. It looks like they want to expand at a time when most chains are not expanding due to the economy (increases in food costs particularly) and the pandemic.

 

[seatownmedia]

If they are expanding why do they ignore Washington State, the 2nd largest state in the west? I can’t figure this one out.

 

[gr8oldies]

Carl Karcher, the founder, sold a lot of the stock after taking the company public (the SEC accused him of insider trading in 1988 and the settlement cost him a half-million in fines, with no admission of wrongdoing).

Without a controlling interest, he lost his position as CEO in a battle with the board of directors in 1993. He was 75 years old and unwilling to compromise on a lot of things. The changes came after that.

I’d disagree that it’s a mix of McDonalds and Burger King, though it has a menu item or two clearly aimed at each. It has its own taste, identifiable as Carl’s Jr. (I had my first meal there in 1964), but quality is inconsistent and has been since they threw Carl overboard.

Eventually Carl's Jr. merged with Hardee's. Same branding and mostly same menu. A lot of Hardees locations are closing.

 

[anotherguyTN]

Agree, Carl’s Jr. was so much better 30 years ago. What happened? It is basically a mix of McDonald’s and Burger King today. I guess it is just the standardization of fast food today. Too bad.

Hardee's sold a lot of locations in West TN to the franchise owners of Burger King in our area and have been extremely limited in their locations since. They tried expanding again in recent years but have some have closed since then.

They had a roast beef sandwich that I really liked in the 90's but they dropped it, probably after the merger with Carl's Jr., but it was brought back on a limited basis and dropped again.

 

[michael hagerty]

If they are expanding why do they ignore Washington State, the 2nd largest state in the west? I can’t figure this one out.

They expand in a linear fashion. They had nothing north of the San Francisco Bay Area for the longest time. About four years ago, they opened Ukiah, California, then three in southern Oregon.

Part of it has to do with the company's hard-and-fast rule that they won't open a restaurant more than a day's drive from their own distribution facilities. They bought a piece of land in Tualitin (suburban Portland) a few months ago. If they establish a presence in Portland, they'll put a distribution facility there and be in a position to expand up into Washington State.