Only 16 States Have A Carl's Jr. Is Yours One Of Them?

Carl's Jr.'s inspiring origin story has humble beginnings. Carl Karcher and his wife, Margaret, purchased a hot dog stand in 1941 using $15 of their own money and $311 borrowed on their brand-new Plymouth. Just a few years later they were able to establish a restaurant, Carl's Drive-In Barbecue in Anaheim, California, followed quickly by the first official Carl's Jr. locations in the 1950s. Today, there are over 1,000 Carl's Jr. locations in the U.S. — along with additional restaurants around the globe.

But despite this growth, Carl's Jr. is limited to just 16 states. Naturally, since it's a California original, a whopping 638 of its locations are concentrated in California. The rest of the restaurants feature heavily in Western and Southern states, though some have made it as far out as Hawaii and Florida. The other 13 states home to at least one Carl's Jr. are Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. If your home state isn't on the list, don't worry; while you may be eager to try the top fast-food breakfast sandwich in the nation or to take advantage of its second-fastest drive-thru service, so far, we've only given you half of the story.

Carl and Margaret Karcher's restaurant business was so successful that, in 1997, Carl Karcher Enterprises Restaurants was able to buy out Hardee's, an East Coast chain that had thousands of locations at the time. The merger cost $327 million — a number nearly identical to what the Karchers spent on their hot dog stand (minus the millions).

Today, the two restaurants are considered to be extremely similar, although Hardee's has always been known for its made-from-scratch biscuits (which feature more prominently on its menu than Carl's Jr.'s). They both have a robust selection of charbroiled burgers (they may start out frozen but they're 100% beef), fried chicken, milkshakes, and more all-American fare. Hardee's still has slightly more locations than Carl's Jr. at 1,571, and you can pop into a Hardee's in 31 U.S. states. While there is some overlap with the Carl's Jr. territory (Wyoming, Louisiana, Florida, and Oklahoma), for the most part, "never the twain shall meet." At least for now.