Six Dollar Burger Worth Its Weight in Silver

SANTA BARBARA, Calif., April 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CKE Restaurants, Inc.'s Six Dollar Burger™ has received the 2002 Silver Skillet Award in the sandwich category from Restaurant Business magazine. The annual award recognizes exceptional innovation in new food or beverage items and uniqueness in product and marketing strategy.

The Six Dollar Burger, which actually sells for $3.95, is so named because $6 is the minimum consumers would pay for a similar product at leading casual dining restaurants. ``We wanted to create a hamburger that would raise the bar on quality and taste and set us apart from the competition,'' said John Koncki, director of product development for CKE Restaurants. ``We are absolutely thrilled with the success of the Six Dollar Burger and this award is icing on the cake.''

The idea of a restaurant-style burger was first introduced in December of 2000 when the Carl's Jr. product development team was experimenting with larger-sized patties. Originally, four prototype hamburgers were created and tested for a six-month period. All the burgers scored exceptionally well, but the current Six Dollar Burger was chosen because it had the most universal appeal. After the success of the hamburger at Carl's Jr., the Six Dollar Burger was introduced at Hardee's where it also has done exceedingly well.

The Six Dollar Burger consists of a nearly half-pound, charbroiled beef steak patty, two slices of American cheese, mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, red onion, bread-and-butter pickles, tomato and lettuce on a toasted sesame seed bun.