Who Owns Carl's Jr?

Carl Karcher and his wife Margaret borrowed $311 against their Plymouth in 1941 to buy a hot dog cart in Los Angeles. Within four years they had several carts, and in 1945 they opened their first full restaurant, Carl's Drive-In Barbecue, in Anaheim, California.

The Carl's Jr name arrived in 1956, when Karcher opened two smaller, faster versions of the drive-in, one in Anaheim and one in nearby Brea, naming them for the smaller "junior" format. The chain grew across Southern California through the 1960s, incorporated as Carl Karcher Enterprises in 1966, and went public in 1981.

The 1990s and 2000s brought expansion and brand-building. CKE acquired Hardee's in 1997, extending the company's national reach while keeping Carl's Jr as the Western flagship. Risque marketing campaigns, including the famous Paris Hilton and later Super Bowl ads, gave the brand a provocative identity aimed squarely at young male burger eaters. The Western Bacon Cheeseburger and the Famous Star became menu anchors.

Apollo Global Management took CKE private in 2010 for about $928 million, and Roark Capital bought its majority stake in 2013. Leadership churned through the following decade: longtime CEO Andrew Puzder departed in 2017, Jason Marker led until 2019, Ned Lyerly ran the company into the mid-2020s, and Joe Guith took over in March 2025. CKE consolidated all corporate functions in Franklin, Tennessee by 2018, moving Carl's Jr brand management east from its historical California base.