Carl Nicholas Karcher SMOM (January 16, 1917 – January 11, 2008) was an American businessman who founded the

Carl's Jr. Carl's Jr. Restaurants LLC is an American fast food restaurant chain operated by CKE Restaurant Holdings, Inc., with franchisees in North & South America, Asia, Oceania, Europe and Africa. In 2016, ''Entrepreneur'' listed Carl's Jr. as No. 54 ...

hamburger chain, now owned by parent company Snow Star LP.

Early life

Born on a farm near

Upper Sandusky, Ohio Upper Sandusky is a city and the county seat of Wyandot County, Ohio, Wyandot County, Ohio, United States, along the upper Sandusky River, which flows north to Sandusky Bay and Lake Erie. The city is approximately 59 mi (96 km) south of ...

, Karcher was the son of Ohio natives Leo and Anna Maria (Kuntz) Karcher. Leo Karcher's grandparents immigrated from Belgium; Anna Maria Kuntz was of German ancestry. Carl N. Karcher moved to

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...

, where his uncle ran a small business. He was hired by his uncle and worked for him for three years, and later dropped that job to work at a bakery as a delivery boy which increased his weekly salary by $6. He married Margaret Magdalen Heinz Karcher in 1939.

Restaurant business

Karcher and his wife started their first business, a hot dog stand, on July 17, 1941, in Los Angeles when they borrowed $311 against their Plymouth automobile and added $15 from Margaret's purse.Carl N. Karcher; 90 remarkable years
/ref> The stand initially sold hot dogs and

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

tamale A tamale, in Spanish tamal, is a traditional Mesoamerican dish made of masa, a dough made from nixtamalized corn, which is steamed in a corn husk or banana leaf. The wrapping can either be discarded prior to eating or used as a plate. Tamale ...

s. On his 28th birthday, January 16, 1945, they opened their first restaurant, Carl's Drive-In Barbecue, in Anaheim. Their restaurant quickly expanded, with the restaurants numbering 100 by 1974 and over 300 by 1981. Karcher was investigated and sued by the

Securities and Exchange Commission The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...

for

insider trading Insider trading is the trading of a public company's stock or other securities (such as bonds or stock options) based on material, nonpublic information about the company. In various countries, some kinds of trading based on insider information ...

after allegedly telling family members to sell their stock in advance of a poor earnings report. Karcher settled the case in July 1989 for $664,000. Karcher served as chairman and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of the company until its own board of directors voted him out in 1993 after years of infighting over strategy. Karcher objected to the sexualized nature of the Carl's Jr. ad campaigns of the 2000s, and was said to have been "heartbroken that a company he founded on Christian principles has taken such an amoral act." Karcher died on January 11, 2008, from complications of

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

, at age 90, just five days before he would have turned 91.Carl Karcher, Founder of Carl's Jr. Chain, Dies at 90
Bloomberg.com, January 13, 2008

Awards

Karcher received numerous awards for his philanthropy, including, in 1979, the

Horatio Alger Award The Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans is a nonprofit organization based in Alexandria, Virginia, that was founded in 1947 to honor the achievements of outstanding Americans who have succeeded in spite of adversity and to emphas ...

"for his distinction in accomplishments through individual initiative, hard work and adherence to traditional ideals." Karcher was a member of the

Knights of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...

. He also received the Pope John XXIII Award from the Italian Catholic Federation for "best exemplifying benevolent, philosophical and charitable principles." On January 16, 2007, his 90th birthday, Karcher and his deceased wife Margaret were recognized with the placement of a star on the Anaheim/Orange County Walk of Stars.

Personal life

Karcher was a devout Catholic and an active member of the

Sovereign Military Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...

. He attended mass daily at St. Boniface Catholic Church in Anaheim prior to going to work at his office. Carl and Margaret had 12 children. Their son, Jerome T. Karcher, who is a priest in the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange The Diocese of Orange (Latin language, Latin: ''Dioecesis Arausicanae in California''; Spanish language, Spanish: Diócesis de Orange; Vietnamese language, Vietnamese: ''Giáo phận Quận Cam'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or dio ...

, received the Man of Character Award from the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded i ...

for founding Mercy House in

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

for the homeless.

Political activities

Karcher was a lifelong supporter of conservative causes and was known to lead the

Pledge of Allegiance The Pledge of Allegiance of the United States is a patriotic recited verse that promises allegiance to the flag of the United States and the republic of the United States of America. The first version, with a text different from the one used ...

to the American flag at the beginning of CKE board meetings. Karcher was an early supporter of John Schmitz, a Republican and member of the

John Birch Society The John Birch Society (JBS) is an American right-wing political advocacy group. Founded in 1958, it is anti-communist, supports social conservatism, and is associated with ultraconservative, radical right, far-right, or libertarian ideas. T ...

, who represented Orange County in the

California State Senate The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature, the lower house being the California State Assembly. The State Senate convenes, along with the State Assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Cal ...

and later Congress. Schmitz was the presidential nominee of the American Independent Party in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

. In 1978, he contributed US$1 million to California's Proposition 6 initiative, also known as the

Briggs Initiative California Proposition 6, informally known as the Briggs Initiative, was a ballot initiative put to a referendum on the California state ballot in the November 7, 1978 election. It was sponsored by John Briggs, a conservative state legislator ...

, which would have banned

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

people from serving in California public schools. He was the initiative's biggest financial supporter.

References

A remarkable lunch with Carl Karcher
{{DEFAULTSORT:Karcher, Carl N. 1917 births 2008 deaths American food company founders Fast-food chain founders John Birch Society members California Republicans People from Anaheim, California CKE Restaurants Burials in Orange County, California Neurological disease deaths in California Deaths from Parkinson's disease American people of Belgian descent American people of German descent American chief executives of food industry companies People from Upper Sandusky, Ohio Catholics from California Catholics from Ohio