On Oct 5, 1:00 pm, iL_WeReo <
caljamsc...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> I can hold a sign up that says,
> "SCOTT LIFSHINE IS A MURDERER!"
>
St. Louis, MO, October 5th, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Wilbur Hardee, 95,
founder of
Hardee's(R) restaurants, passed away on Friday, October 5, 2012.
Wilber Hardee was born on August 15, 1917 in the rural community of
Martin
County, North Carolina, but his desire for adventure led him away from
his
family's farm. Those adventures often included hitchhiking trips with
close
friend Bill Edwards as far south as Miami, Florida and New Orleans,
Louisiana
and as far north as Washington, DC.
After stints as a musician and grill cook, Hardee joined the
United States
Navy to serve his country during World War II. Granted a furlough
following
his uncle's death, Hardee returned to the States where he met Kathryn
Roebuck,
whom he would marry in 1945.
Although he had settled down, Hardee never lost the adventurous
spirit of
his youth that would lead him to become one of the most forward-
thinking
entrepreneurs of his time.
With the help of his wife, Hardee opened his first restaurants in
North
Carolina, the Do Drop Inn, Port Terminal Inn (both of which he later
sold) and
the Silo Restaurant. Ever observant, Hardee studied the things that
the public
seems to respond to the most at existing quick-serve restaurants at
the time
and an idea formed that would evolve into the first Hardee's
restaurant
concept.
On September 3, 1960, Wilber Hardee opened his new restaurant, a
drive-in,
on the busy corner of 14th and Charles Streets in what was then a
popular
cruising district near the East Carolina University campus in
Greenville,
North Carolina. The very first Hardee's had no tables, no waiters and
only a
few items on the menu. But, the drive-thru restaurant was an immediate
success. The main attraction was a 15-cent fresh-ground, lean beef
burger that
was made to order on a custom-build charcoal broiler.
The successful business model soon attracted interested partners.
Jim
Gardner and Leonard Rawls made the trip across the state to meet with
Hardee
and discuss plans for expansion. The trio soon formed a partnership
and opened
the first Hardee's franchise restaurant in Rocky Mount, North Carolina
on May
5, 1961.
Rawls had attended high school with two other entrepreneurial
spirits,
Nick and Mayo Boddie. They would eventually team up with their uncle,
Carleton
Noell and form Boddie-Noell Enterprises (BNE). Upon viewing the
enormous
success of the early Hardee's restaurants, the industrious group
bought five
franchises for $1,500 each. Today, BNE operates just under 350
Hardee's
restaurants, making them the brand's largest privately held
franchisee.
Wilbur Hardee eventually severed ties with his partners, who quickly
turned the Hardee's name into one of the most recognized restaurants
in the
nation. The company went public in 1963, expanded rapidly with over
1,900
locations across the Midwest and Southeast today, as well as over 75
international locations, mainly in the Middle East. The Hardee's
corporate
offices remained in Rocky Mount until 2001, when parent company CKE
moved
Hardee's headquarters to its present location in downtown St. Louis,
Missouri.
Hardee remained a restaurant mainstay in North Carolina, even
without his
signature restaurant. Between 1949 and 1991, he began 85 different
restaurants
throughout the Southeast.
Although Hardee had not been affiliated with the company that bore
his
name for many years, he was invited to participate in the 40th
anniversary
celebration of the franchise by CKE in 2000, where he met a kindred
spirit,
the late Carl Karcher, founder of CKE's other quick-service restaurant
chain,
Carl's Jr.
Arrangements are being made by Wilkerson Funeral Home & Crematory.
A
private memorial service will be held at a later date.
Hardee was preceded in death by his first wife, Kathryn Roebuck
Hardee,
and daughters Janie Hardee Smith and Doris Rae Hardee. He is survived
by wife
of 22 years, Helen Galloway Hardee; daughters, Ann Hardee Riggs, Mary
Kathryn
Hardee Baker, and Becky Hardee Eissens; step-daughter, Patricia Vernon
Phelps;
grandchildren Gregory Lee Riggs, Scottie Smith, the Rev. Marcus L.
Riggs,
James Wesley Riggs, James William Hodges, Yvonne Hardee Moore, Skylar
Alexis
Stox and Sierra Grace Stox; and nine great-grandchildren.
About Hardee's Food Systems, Inc.
Hardee's Food Systems, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of CKE
Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE: CKR) of Carpinteria, Calif. As of its fiscal
2011
fourth quarter ended Jan. 28, 2012, CKE Restaurants, Inc., through its
subsidiaries, had a total of 3,067 franchised, licensed or company-
operated
restaurants in 42 states and in 13 countries, including 1,141 Carl's
Jr.
restaurants and 1,926 Hardee's restaurants. For more information, or
to find a
Hardee's near you, go to
http://www.ckr.com or
http://www.hardees.com.
SOURCE Hardee's Food Systems, Inc.
SCOTT LIFSHINE IS A MURDERER!