CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc.

What does CKE Restaurants own?

CKE owns Carl's Jr, Hardee's, Green Burrito, and Red Burrito, a system of more than 3,800 restaurants across 44 US states and over 35 international markets.

Is CKE Restaurants publicly traded?

No. CKE traded on the NYSE as Carl Karcher Enterprises until Apollo Global Management took it private in 2010. It has been majority owned by Roark Capital since 2013.

Who founded CKE Restaurants?

Carl and Margaret Karcher founded the business in 1941 with a Los Angeles hot dog cart and launched the Carl's Jr restaurant format in 1956. CKE is short for Carl Karcher Enterprises.

Where is CKE Restaurants headquartered?

The company is headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee, having consolidated its California and Missouri offices there between 2016 and 2018.

Who owns CKE Restaurants?

Roark Capital, an Atlanta private equity firm focused on franchise businesses, owns the majority stake. Joe Guith has served as CEO since March 2025.

How are Carl's Jr and Hardee's related?

They are sister chains under the same parent, sharing the Happy Star logo and much of their menu. CKE acquired Hardee's in 1997 and operates the brands on a geographic split, Carl's Jr west and Hardee's east.

Carl and Margaret Karcher started the business in 1941 with a $311 loan against their car to buy a Los Angeles hot dog cart. Their first full restaurant, Carl's Drive-In Barbecue, opened in Anaheim in 1945. In 1956 they launched Carl's Jr as a smaller express format, and the chain spread across Southern California through the 1960s.

The business incorporated as Carl Karcher Enterprises in 1966 and went public in 1981, trading for nearly three decades on the New York Stock Exchange. The defining structural move came in 1997, when CKE bought the Hardee's chain from Canada's Imasco, roughly doubling its footprint and creating the East-West dual-brand map that still exists.

Apollo Global Management took CKE private in 2010 for about $928 million, ending 29 years as a public company. Three years later, in November 2013, Roark Capital acquired its majority stake for a reported $1.65 to $1.75 billion. Under Roark, the company consolidated headquarters in Franklin, Tennessee between 2016 and 2018, closing its St. Louis and Carpinteria offices and moving the Anaheim operation east.

Leadership has rotated through the Roark era. Andrew Puzder, CEO for 17 years and a prominent advocate of the brand's edgy marketing, left in 2017 after his failed nomination as US Labor Secretary. Jason Marker followed until 2019, then Ned Lyerly ran the company, followed by interim CEO Sarah Spiegel and, in March 2025, Joe Guith. The period also saw steady menu convergence between Carl's Jr and Hardee's and continued international franchise expansion.

CKE's most public controversies involved its marketing and its former CEO. The chains' sexually suggestive advertising of the 2000s and 2010s drew sustained criticism and was later retired. Andrew Puzder's 2017 Labor Secretary nomination collapsed amid scrutiny of the chain's labor record, including past overtime violation findings at franchise restaurants. In 2026, sector reporting flagged rising franchisee bankruptcies across quick service. No major food safety recalls or material regulatory penalties are on record recently.