The Karcher Foundation serves a helping of food history
The late Carl and Margaret Karcher, shown here on their 65th wedding anniversary, began their legendary business with a hot dog cart in 1941.
Carl N. Karcher (1917-2008) and his wife Margaret (1915-2006), founders of CKE Restaurants and its flagship Carl’s Jr. restaurant chain, began their legendary business with a hot dog cart in 1941. Located on the corner of Florence and Central in Los Angeles, the business took in $14.75 on its first day. In fiscal year 2007, CKE Restaurants brought in more than $1.5 billion – making it the quintessential American success story.
As Orange County grew and transformed, so did Carl’s Jr., becoming a symbol of the changing culture of Southern California. In an effort to preserve the history of the food industry in Orange County, the Karcher Foundation has provided $50,000 to establish the Karcher Family/Southern California Food Visionaries and Culture Project, which will explore the lives, politics and economics of Orange County’s most notable food families. In addition, the project will help explain a period of transformation: Between the 1940s and today, Orange County evolved from a rural area to a complex and culturally rich region. Initially, the university’s Center for Oral and Public History will conduct a series of oral histories with members of the Karcher family, business associates and employees of early Carl’s Jr. restaurants and Carl Karcher Enterprises.
“The quick-service restaurant business started in Southern California,” says Barbara Karcher Wall ’96 (B.A. human services) daughter of Carl and Margaret. “We want to explore why the food visionaries were here in the early days, and we also want to preserve the history of the food industry in Orange County – the people, the politics, and the culture that grew with it.”
For information about giving to the Center for Oral and Public History, please contact Joan Rubio at 657-278-5773.