It's Not Easy Being Green at Hardee's(R)

    ST. LOUIS, Nov. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Back in early 2003 when the Hardee's
 fast-food chain recommitted itself to a "Young Hungry Guy" target audience
 and to big burgers, management didn't realize it was also making its life
 more difficult in unexpected ways. For the chain that brought the world the
 infamous 2/3-lb. Monster Thickburger(R) and such '"meat-as-a-condiment"
 creations as the Philly Cheesesteak Thickburger(TM), finding a salad that
 its customers wanted to buy has proved challenging. Today, Hardee's debuts
 a salad that even its hard-core burger lovers will appreciate, the
 Southwest Chicken Salad(TM).
     (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20061120/CGM042 )
     "We have tested many types of salads over the years at Hardee's in an
 effort to offer our guests more choices, but few have worked," said Brad
 Haley, executive vice president of marketing for Hardee's. "Our 'Young
 Hungry Guy' customers aren't really into arugula, black beans and Mandarin
 oranges on their salads. What they want is a lot of meat and a lot of
 flavor. That's why, after numerous attempts, the first salad we found that
 would sell well in our restaurants was the Red Burrito Taco Salad(TM)
 introduced last year. And, we're following it up now with the Southwest
 Chicken Salad that comes with a generous portion of crispy chicken breast
 strips and a spicy Santa Fe dressing that gives the whole thing a nice
 kick. While we found the salad sold well among young guys in our test
 market, women also liked it a lot because it tastes great."
     The Southwest Chicken Salad features a crispy tortilla shell "bowl"
 filled with shredded lettuce and topped with crispy chicken breast strips,
 two red onion rings, chopped white onions, chopped tomatoes, shredded
 cheddar cheese, and a tangy Santa Fe dressing. Like the chain's charbroiled
 Thickburgers, the Southwest Chicken Salad is not made until it's ordered so
 that it's always fresh. Participating Hardee's restaurants will offer the
 Southwest Chicken Salad at a suggested retail price of $3.99.
     Hardee's Food Systems, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of CKE
 Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:   CKR) of Carpinteria, Calif. As of the second
 fiscal quarter ended Aug. 14, 2006, CKE Restaurants, Inc., through its
 subsidiaries, had a total of 3,131 franchised or company-owned restaurants
 in 43 states and in 13 countries, including 1,072 Carl's Jr.(R)
 restaurants, 1,945 Hardee's restaurants and 98 La Salsa Fresh Mexican
 Grill(R) restaurants. For more information, or to find a Hardee's near you,
 go to http://www.ckr.com or http://www.hardees.com .
     Contact:  Jeff Mochal              Bob Rybarczyk
               Hardee's                 Weber Shandwick
               (314) 259-6277           (314) 552-6731
               jmochal@ckr.com          brybarczyk@webershandwick.com
 
 

SOURCE Hardee's