CARPINTERIA, Calif., May 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Carl's Jr.(R) and Hardee's(R) may be regional players in the burger chain game, but when the first Zagat(R)/Today Show Fast-Food Survey tallied results from more than five thousand burger fans across the country, the quality vote spoke loudly and clearly. From results released by Zagat Survey today, Carl's Jr. and Hardee's tied for fourth place in the "Best Burger" category, behind "mega-chains" Wendy's, Burger King and McDonald's, and were the only regional chains to make the top-five list on the national survey.
"We are thrilled to see that Carl's Jr. and Hardee's hamburgers were rated among the top five best burgers in the country by the Zagat/Today Show Fast-Food Survey participants," said Brad Haley, executive vice president of marketing for the quick-service burger chains. "We owe our ranking to the fans of the 100 percent Angus beef Six Dollar Burgers(R) at Carl's Jr. and the 100 percent Angus beef Thickburgers(TM) at Hardee's, and it's gratifying to see that our pioneering efforts to bring sit-down restaurant quality burgers to fast-food customers are being appreciated. It's particularly rewarding because the best burger category is the result of cumulative votes based on the collective feedback of thousands of avid consumers. For a regional chain to make the top-five list for best burgers alongside national chains with thousands more restaurants is a quite an honor."
Zagat surveyors praised Carl's Jr. as "a notch above the mainstream chains," and reported positive feedback on its charbroiled hamburgers and Hand-Scooped Ice Cream Shakes(TM) alike, describing the latter as "thick [and] wonderfully nostalgic." Hardee's earned a similar reputation for its 1/3-, 1/2-, and 2/3-pound Thickburgers, with one respondent confirming that it's the "man's fast-food place."
The Zagat/Today Show Fast-Food Survey covered 24 of the country's largest fast-food franchises, and was based on the collective opinions of more than five thousand avid diners. For full results, visit ZAGAT.com.
About Zagat Survey, LLC
Zagat Survey is the world's leading provider of consumer survey-based leisure content. With more than 300,000 surveyors, Zagat Survey rates and reviews restaurants, hotels, nightlife, movies, music, golf, shopping and a range of other entertainment categories. Zagat content is available in print, on the Web, on the Palm and Windows Mobile operating systems, on BlackBerry, on mobile phones, and on TV.
As of the fourth fiscal quarter ended Jan. 29, 2007, CKE Restaurants, Inc. , through its subsidiaries, had a total of 3,105 franchised or company-operated restaurants in 43 states and in 13 countries, including 1,087 Carl's Jr. restaurants, 1,906 Hardee's restaurants and 96 La Salsa Fresh Mexican Grill(R) restaurants. For more information, or to find a Carl's Jr. or Hardee's near you, go to http://www.ckr.com/, http://www.carlsjr.com/ or http://www.hardees.com/.
