CARPINTERIA Calif. CKE Restaurants Inc. has sold another 29 Hardee’s locations in the Midwest as part of an ongoing refranchising program launched last year, officials said Tuesday.
To date, the company has sold 224 restaurants to franchisees, which have signed agreements to open 105 new franchise locations in those markets.
In the most recent deals, CKE sold 23 Hardee’s locations in Indiana and Ohio to Midwest First Star Inc., which is operated by Farooq Shah and Carri Simon. Both are new franchisees, though Simon served as a regional vice president of operations for CKE over the past two years. The franchise company has pledged to build at least seven Hardee’s over the next seven years to fill in those states.
In addition, six Hardee’s locations were sold in Davenport, Iowa, to Westar Foods Inc., a franchisee that also owns units in Des Moines and Cedar Rapids. Westar has committed to open at least four new locations in Davenport over the next four and a half years.
At the end of the first quarter ended May 19, CKE operated or franchised 1,923 Hardee’s restaurants, as well as 1,162 Carl’s Jr. locations in 42 states and 13 countries.
