Carl Karcher

Carl Nicholas Karcher (January 16, 1917 – January 11, 2008) was an American businessman who founded the Carl's Jr. hamburger chain, now owned by parent company Snow Star LP. Early life Born on a farm near Upper Sandusky, Ohio, Karcher was the son of Ohio natives Leo and Anna Maria (Kuntz) Karcher. Leo Karcher's grandparents immigrated from Belgium; Anna Maria Kuntz was of German ancestry. Carl N. Karcher moved to Anaheim, California, where his uncle ran a small business. He was hired by his uncle and worked for him for three years, and later dropped that job to work at a bakery as a delivery boy which increased his weekly salary by $6. He married Margaret Magdalen Heinz Karcher in 1939. Restaurant business Karcher and his wife started their first business, a hot dog stand, on July 17, 1941, in Los Angeles when they borrowed $311 against their Plymouth automobile and added $15 from Margaret's purse. The stand initially sold hot dogs and Mexican tamales. On his 28th birthday, January 16, 1945, they opened their first restaurant, Carl's Drive-In Barbecue, in Anaheim.