Carl Karcher

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article has been nominated to be checked for its neutrality. Discussion of this nomination can be found on the talk page.

Carl Nicholas Karcher (born January 16, 1917 on a farm near Upper Sandusky, Ohio), founded the Carl's Jr. hamburger chain, now owned by parent company CKE Restaurants, Inc..

Karcher was the son of Ohio natives Leo and Anna Maria (Kuntz) Karcher. Leo Karcher's grandparents had immigrated from Belgium; Anna Maria Kuntz was of German ancestry. Carl N. Karcher moved to Anaheim where his uncle ran a small business. He was hired by his uncle and worked for him for three years, later he dropped that job to work at a bakery as a delivery boy which doubled his salary monthly. He married Margaret Magdalen Heinz Karcher in 1939. ^[1]

Karcher and his wife started their first business, a hot dog stand, on July 17, 1941 in Los Angeles, California when they borrowed $311 against their Plymouth automobile and added $15 from Margaret's purse.^[2] The stand initially sold hot dogs and Mexican tamales. On January 16, 1945, they opened their first restaurant, Carl's Drive-In Barbeque in Anaheim, California.^[3]

Their restaurant quickly grew and they opened several more restaurants, numbering 100 by 1974 and more than 300 by 1981. He served for a time as Chairman and CEO of the company.

He has been awarded the Horatio Alger Award for outstanding individual initiative and commitment to excellence while assisting those less fortunate.

On January 16, 2007, which was Karcher's 90th birthday, he, along with his deceased wife, Margaret, were recognized with the placement of a star on the Anaheim/Orange County Walk of Stars.^[4]

His son, Jerome Karcher who is a priest for the Orange County Diocese, has recently received the Man of Character Award by the Boy Scouts of America for creating mercy houses in Orange County for the homeless and those with AIDS.

Political Activities

Carl Karcher is and has been a lifelong supporter of ultra-conservative causes and has contributed to to anti-abortion and anti-gay initiatives. In 1978, he provided $1 million dollars to California's California Proposition 6 (November 1978), also known as The Briggs Initiative. He was the initiative's biggest financial supporter. The proposition was a ballot measure requiring the termination of all gays and lesbians from employment in public schools. The initiative was defeated by over 1 million votes.

When asked if he financially supported more recent anti-gay intitiatives, a staff-member at his office allegedly responded with a question: "Are you gay?" When further pressed, the staffer resorted to, "Do you support the initiative?" But in the end, declined to provide any details.

CKE Restaurants
Carl Karcher (fast-food chain founder)
Franchises Carl's Jr. | Hardee's | Green Burrito | Red Burrito | La Salsa

[edit] Notes

Campbell, Bill. "Bill Campbell's Third District Report", Board of Supervisors, Orange County, California, 2007-01-19. Retrieved on January 19, 2007.

1. ^ Schlosser, Eric (2002). Fast Food Nation. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 14-15. ISBN 0-06-093845-5. 
2. ^ Schlosser, Eric (2002). Fast Food Nation. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 15. ISBN 0-06-093845-5. 
3. ^ Schlosser, Eric (2002). Fast Food Nation. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 18. ISBN 0-06-093845-5. 
4. ^ Karcher