--- title: "Carl's Jr. Franchise: Costs, Fees and Profit" url: https://burnaze.com/article/5885bcfe-5844-4383-8cb1-1fafa383f198 source: "1851 Franchise" original_url: https://1851franchise.com/franchise-deep-dive-carls-jr-franchise-costs-fees-profit-and-data-2726595 category: "Burger" industry: "Restaurants" segment: "Burger" topics: ["Finance & M&A"] published: 2024-07-21T13:08:02.000Z modified: 2026-11-01T01:07:22.605Z image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/5a9ae427869c6d8233cb83a58cb1b2d08536.jpg --- # Carl's Jr. Franchise: Costs, Fees and Profit **TL;DR:** Carl's Jr. is a US-based quick-service restaurant chain with over 3,300 locations worldwide, part of CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc. The brand has 1,065 locations across the U.S., primarily in the western part of the country. *originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2024-07-21. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/franchise-deep-dive-carls-jr-franchise-costs-fees-profit-and-data-2726595).* ## Story Carl's Jr. is an American quick-service restaurant chain that specializes in burgers, fries and other classic fast-food items. The brand is part of CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc. which also owns the Hardee's chain, allowing for a broad reach and shared promotional strategies across both brands. Established in 1941 by Carl N. Karcher, Carl's Jr. has been a West Coast icon for over 75 years. With only $15 in savings and a $311 loan against their Plymouth car, Karcher and his wife, Margaret, started with a single hot dog cart in Los Angeles. This small business has since evolved into a popular quick-service franchise with more than 3,300 locations worldwide. The brand has 1,065 locations across the U.S., primarily in the western part of the country. Carl's Jr. is a fast-food franchise renowned for its burgers, such as the Western Bacon Cheeseburger, the Super Star hamburger, and the Beyond Famous Star with Cheese. Other fan favorites include hand-breaded chicken tenders, made-from-scratch biscuits, charbroiled chicken sandwiches, and hand-scooped ice cream shakes and malts. The brand prefers multi-unit agreements with franchisees, but will consider one or two-unit agreements under certain circumstances. Franchisees also have co-branding options and can open a Green Burrito Dual Concept Restaurant, as well as locations inside a gas station or convenience store. The brand does not make this information publicly available. Prospective owners can access this information through the brand’s most recent Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD). The total initial investment necessary to begin operation of a Carl's Jr. franchise ranges from $1,499,000 to $2,228,000. The franchise fee required to begin operation of a Carl's Jr. franchise is $25,000 to $35,000, depending on the number of units in operation, which must be paid to the franchisor. *Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only. You should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. Nothing contained on this site constitutes a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, or offer to buy or sell any franchises, securities, or other financial instruments in this or in any other jurisdiction in which such solicitation or offer would be unlawful under the franchise and/or securities laws of such jurisdiction.* *All content in this article is information of a general nature and does not address the detailed circumstances of any particular individual or entity. Nothing in the article constitutes professional and/or financial advice, nor does any information in the email constitute a comprehensive or complete statement of the matters discussed or the law relating thereto. You alone assume the sole responsibility of evaluating the merits and risks associated with the use of any information or other content in this article before making any decisions based on such information or other content.* ## Entities - 1851 Franchise (publication) - Restaurants (sector) - franchise costs (topic) - franchise fees (topic) - quick service restaurant (topic) - Carl's Jr. (company) - Hardee's (company) - CKE Restaurants (company) - multi-unit agreements (topic) --- Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/franchise-deep-dive-carls-jr-franchise-costs-fees-profit-and-data-2726595). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/5885bcfe-5844-4383-8cb1-1fafa383f198).