Hardee's Tests 'Retro' Burgers

The Burger Chef Big Shef hamburger will be added to the menu at Hardee's restaurant locations in Indianapolis; Terre Haute, Indiana; Fort Wayne, Indiana; South Bend, Indiana; and Dayton, Ohio beginning April 23rd.

The Big Shef was a signature burger on the Burger Chef menu in the 1970s and 1980s. It is a 1/4-pound burger featuring two charbroiled patties, American cheese, shredded lettuce, and special Big Shef sauce. The Burger Chef Big Shef will replace the Big Twin on the Hardee's menu in these cities and will be sold at a 2-for-$3 price point.

"Hardee's conducted a test in February where we brought back the Burger Chef Big Shef at one of our company-owned restaurants in Terre Haute. The response was overwhelming," says Brad Haley, Hardee's executive vice president of marketing. "In certain markets like Indy and Terre Haute, the love affair with Burger Chef remains strong, and people were gobbling up the Big Shef burgers as fast as we could make them. We knew then that we needed to bring this product back on a larger scale, to offer Burger Chef fans across the Midwest their Big Shef fix."

Hardee's Food Systems, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of CKE Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:CKR) of Carpinteria, Calif. As of the fourth fiscal quarter ended Jan. 29, 2007, CKE Restaurants, Inc., through its subsidiaries, had a total of 3,105 franchised or company-operated restaurants in 43 states and in 13 countries, including 1,087 Carl's Jr. restaurants, 1,906 Hardee's restaurants and 96 La Salsa Fresh Mexican Grill restaurants.