Votes of Confidence by Carl’s Customers

At a busy Carl’s Jr. restaurant in Costa Mesa, hungry customers munched their burgers and fries undisturbed by allegations that Carl N. Karcher and his family had engaged in insider stock trading.

“I don’t care,” said Domitila Duenas as she carried a hamburger, a salad and a soft drink out of the Carl’s on Harbor Boulevard. “They served me well here, so I don’t care. Besides, we all do wrong things once in a while.”

Her teen-age son, Jose Duenas, said he had never heard of Carl Karcher and asked whether he worked at the restaurant.

“I have nothing against the restaurant,” he said. “It’s clean.”

Others, who recognized the name of the restaurant chain’s founder, said the insider trading charges contained in a lawsuit filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission would not affect their consumption of Famous Star burgers and other Carl’s specialties.

“I’ll still come here,” said Julia Bend of Huntington Beach. “It’s close, and it’s got the best fast food around.”

Bend, a finance major at Cal State Long Beach, said her impression of Karcher, based on his TV appearances, is that of “someone who built his business from the ground up. . . . He seems pretty responsible.”

Bend said she understands the seriousness of the allegations but believes that the charges against Karcher “sound pretty petty.”

Told that Karcher and his brother are accused of tipping off family members about adverse financial news involving Karcher Enterprises, thus enabling them to sell stock and avoid losses totaling $310,000, Bend replied: “It’s just human nature to want to tell your family how your business is doing.”

Richard Clay, who shared fries with his friend, Rosemarie Johnson, at the Costa Mesa Carl’s Thursday, was even more adamant. “He is a neat guy,” Clay said. “He’s a Christian, and so am I.”

The Huntington Beach couple, who said they eat at a Carl’s Jr. two to three times a week, expressed confidence that Karcher will be exonerated of the insider trading charges.

Clay said he will continue dining at Carl’s Jr., where he particularly enjoys eating the fries. “The atmosphere is pleasant,” he said. “The service is good, and it’s a good place to have fries after work.

“Besides, he has only been accused,” he said. “If you had told me he was indicted, that would be something else.”