Hardee's

Hardee's has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I especially love their morning cinnamon rolls, and their hot ham and cheese sandwich. We always stopped at Hardees to get cinnamon on our way to Chicago and Peoria to visit my grandparents as a child. My sister works at Hardees. Hardees is nice because they don't have the typical menu that other burger fast food places have. Hardee's has now entered their third logo redesign.






Logo #1: Wilbur Hardee opened his first walk-up stand in Greenville, NC, in 1960. I don't know when this particular logo was actually adopted. It looks pretty 1970s/1980s to me. It's the Hardee's logo that I remember for years growing up.








Logo #2: In 1997, Carl Karcher Enterprises (who owned the Carl's Jr. fast food restaurants in California) purchased the Hardee's chain. After a market test in Peoria, IL (which I remember very well - we were shocked to find Hardee's had changed names!) and Oklahoma City failed with the Carl's Jr. renameing, the entire Hardee's franchise was converted to "Star Hardee's" with a new logo which matched that of Carl's Jr. When the star first came out I thought it was the most ridiculus design for a hamburger chain. I mean, what the heck does a smiling star have to do with Hardee's. Then I learned that it was part of Carl's Jr. logo.









Logo #3: In late 2005, St. Louis area Hardee's coupled with Red burrito to offer mexican food along with their regular menu. This spurred a new logo redesign for Hardees. So will this logo stick? It's an interesting concept for a fast food restaurant - using the scripty font. They kept the star however. I don't know know whether this logo is going to be a nationwide change or only a St. Louis area change.