Hardee’s

Hardee’s charbroils its burgers over an open flame and rolls its biscuit dough by hand every morning. That pairing has held since the chain’s first decade. Close to 1,480 restaurants trade across 31 states, most of them in the Southeast, the Mid-Atlantic and the Midwest.

The Hardee’s history below covers the founding in eastern North Carolina and the company built out of it. Carl’s Jr. arrives later, under the same owner. Prices, secret builds and allergen declarations sit on separate pages.

Hardee’s History

Wilber Hardee put up the first Hardee’s in Greenville, North Carolina, in 1960, a counter selling hamburgers, fries and milkshakes to a drive-in trade. The charcoal broiler he installed behind it still cooks every burger the chain sells. Two customers, James Carson Gardner and Leonard Rawls, opened the first company-owned store on North Church Street in Rocky Mount in 1961. Hardee’s Food Systems grew out of that store.

CKE Restaurants Holdings runs Hardee’s alongside Carl’s Jr. from Franklin, Tennessee, having moved the head office there out of California. That pairing dates to 1997, when CKE bought the chain and set both names under one owner. Roark Capital Group has held the company since 2013, and Joe Guith has served as its CEO since March 2025. Alisa Gmelich took over as Hardee’s president in October 2026, succeeding Christopher Bode.

Biscuit makers start before dawn, mixing and cutting Made From Scratch Biscuit dough by hand. A fresh batch reaches the case every fifteen minutes through the morning. That method went nationwide in 1977 after a test run in Virginia Beach, pulling sausage gravy, country ham and fried chicken onto the board. Close to 1,480 restaurants now trade across 31 states, with North Carolina holding roughly one in seven and Virginia and Tennessee next.

Hardee’s Menus & Details

Four pages carry the detail behind the counter. Prices, off-menu builds, the afternoon deal and allergen declarations each get their own.

The full board, section by section, with a price and a calorie figure beside every item.

Off-menu builds, the wording to hand the crew, and the listed item each one starts from.

Hardee’s afternoon window, the Charbroiled Sliders it prices by patty count, and the drink that rides along with them.

Milk, wheat, soy, egg and sesame item by item, plus the short dairy-free and wheat-free lists.