Burger lovers in Loves Park, Illinois wasted no time welcoming Hardee’sback into the community last week. The newly opened Hardee’s in the Rockford area set a company sales record in its opening week in Loves Park, topping the previous Hardee’s domestic sales mark at a Sioux Falls, South Dakota restaurant in October 2010.
“We knew the people of Loves Park missed Hardee’s and were excited for the new opening but this surpassed our expectations,” said Andrew F. Puzder, CEO of CKE Restaurants, Inc., parent company of Hardee’s. “Obviously, as our results in the Rockford area show, the people of northern Illinois love our big, delicious burgers and Made From Scratch Biscuits. It was an amazing welcome back from the community and we are very grateful for their support.”
The new restaurant remodeled a building that used to be a Hardee’s but had been closed by previous franchise owners in 1999.
“After meeting with people in the community, we knew they had been enthusiastic about the brand so we knew it was the right time to bring Hardee’s back to Rockford,” said Jeff Reddig, partner at Star Restaurants, the Hardee’s franchise operator.
The Loves Park Hardee’s located at 1550 E. Riverside Blvd. opened for business May 2. It is the 11th Hardee’s franchise operated by Quad Cities-based Star Restaurants and employs 70 full- and part-time workers. There are now 75 Hardee’s in the state of Illinois employing about 2,000 people.
“I’m proud of our franchise groups and their commitment to growing the Hardee’s brand,” added Puzder. “I’m especially proud of Jeff Reddig and Jerry Maniccia with Star Restaurants, George Collins and Bobbie Dischler with Hardee’s and the Loves Park restaurant crew. They did a great job delivering the premium-quality food and great customer service for which we’re famous.”
Celebrating more than 50 years in the quick-service industry, Hardee’s Good Systems is a wholly owned subsidiary of CKE Restaurants, Inc. of Carpinteria, Calif. As of the end of fiscal 2012, the Company, through its subsidiaries, had a total of 3,243 franchised, licensed or company-operated restaurants in 42 states and 25 countries, including 1,313 Carl’s Jr. restaurants and 1,912 Hardee’s restaurants. For more information, or to find a Hardee’s near you, go to www.hardees.com.
