Friday, May 25, 2012

Hardee's Serves Up Big Opportunities for Charlotte Expansion

CKE Restaurants, Inc., has announced its intent to develop new
Hardee's® restaurants throughout the Charlotte, N.C. area. The company
is seeking to expand its Charlotte footprint over the next several
years and sees the potential to develop more than 35 new restaurants
in the market. Currently, Hardee's operates 51 locations within the
Charlotte metro-area.

Actively seeking new franchisees, Hardee's will host an Executive
Roundtable on June 7 in Charlotte from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. to
share information about the benefits of owning a Hardee's restaurant
and specific opportunities in Charlotte. To attend the Roundtable or
schedule an individual meeting, please visit www.ckefranchise.com/Success
to complete the registration form.

"Hardee's is ranked among the highest quality and best tasting brands
in the burger segment and is recognized for our consistent track
record of sales growth and solid unit economics," said Ned Lyerly,
CKE's Executive Vice President of Global Franchise Development. "We
are excited to expand in the Charlotte area, and we're now looking for
experienced multi-unit operators to join the brand."

Qualified candidates should possess a minimum net worth of $1 million
and a minimum liquidity of $300,000. Franchisees can expect an
initial investment of $1.1 million, including the franchise fee.
Additional franchise information is available at www.ckefranchise.com.

"Our commitment at Hardee's to serve premium-quality, great-tasting
food is rivaled only by our commitment to the success of our
franchisees." continued Lyerly. Started in North Carolina in 1960,
Hardee's has been a local favorite for more than 50 years. Although
most people know Hardee's for its Made from Scratch Biscuits™, all
that changed in 2003 with the launch of the 100% Black Angus Beef
Thickburger® line. The sit-down-restaurant-quality Thickburgers
established Hardee's as a leader in the quick service industry in
quality and taste. Today, Hardee's forges ahead with an attractive
franchise centric business model featuring a strong brand heritage,
iconic memorable ads, an innovative menu, solid unit economics and
dual branding options with Red Burrito ©

About Hardee's

Celebrating more than 50 years in the quick-service industry, Hardee's
Food Systems is a wholly owned subsidiary of CKE Restaurants, Inc. of
Carpinteria, Calif. At of the end of fiscal 2012, the Company, through
its subsidiaries, had a total of 3,243 franchised or company-operated
restaurants in 42 states and in 25 countries, including 1,313 Carl's
Jr.® restaurants and 1,912 Hardee's restaurants. For more information,
or to find a Hardee's near you, go to Document20www.hardees.com.
Hardee's social media sites includewww.facebook.com/hardees, www.twitter.com/hardees
, and www.youtube.com/hardees.