The Hardee’s restaurant in Houston is shutting down.
The restaurant’s last day of operation at 926 S. Sam Houston Blvd. is Friday, Dec. 19, according to employees.
Multiple online sources indicate that Hardee’s is experiencing recent, sudden closures of multiple locations linked to a major legal/financial dispute with franchisee ARC Burger LLC over unpaid fees, leading to terminated agreements and abrupt shutdowns, impacting communities and employees (although it’s not a total chain collapse). Sudden closures have occurred in Missouri, Georgia, southern Illinois, North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa and Pennsylvania, with some towns losing their last or only location.
According to Street.com, CKE Restaurants Holdings Inc., which operates Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s restaurants and is based in Franklin, Tennessee, has been closing dozens of under-performing locations of both brands in several states around the country. CKE bought Hardee’s from Imasco for $327 million in April 1997.
The Herald’s attempts to obtain comments or information by phone or email from CKE, ARC Burger and the Houston Hardee’s were unsuccessful.
Hardee’s began serving customers in Houston in August 1992 at a 4,000 square-foot building constructed on a one-acre tract formerly occupied by a gas station. The location won the Hardee’s Midwest Biscuit Baking Challenge in late 2015, a competition between 120 stores.
The first Hardee’s opened in June of 1960 in Greensboro, North Carolina, serving 15-cent hamburgers, 10-cent fries and 20-cent milkshakes.
Sad to see it go