Karcher Officials Get Franchises to 19 Carl’s Jr. Units

In the land of the Happy Star, few people could be happier than the four Carl Karcher Enterprises executives who were named Thursday as new franchisees of 19 Carl’s Jr. restaurants in Arizona.

“I’m really happy,” said Mark Clarke, who is leaving his post as regional director of Karcher’s operations in Arizona to take over management of seven Carl’s Jr. restaurants in the greater Phoenix area. “There are not many times you get to go to work for yourself.”

In an effort to stem losses at its Arizona operations, Karcher is converting some of its outlets there from company stores to franchise operations.

Karcher named Clarke and three former district managers in Arizona--Dorothy McGrath, Ron Long and Carl Ritter--as franchisees for the 19 Carl’s Jr. outlets.

Between them, the four former Karcher executives will operate about half of the 37 Carl’s Jr. restaurants that will remain in Arizona. Karcher has already closed nine of its poorer-performing restaurants in Arizona and is yet to decide on franchisees to operate its Tucson-area restaurants.

Last month, Karcher announced a one-time reduction in earnings of $14.5 million to pay for disposition or franchising of restaurants across the California border. At the time, the company said its Arizona stores had been losing about $5 million a year.

Karcher did not disclose financial details of the Arizona franchise deal.

Patricia Parks, a Karcher spokeswoman, said the new franchisees may be able to run a leaner, more efficient operation than the corporation could. “These are people who really know the market,” she said.

Clarke said he thinks his knowledge of the community and ability to lower overhead costs will make him successful. He said he plans to increase the profile of his Carl’s Jr. restaurants by sponsoring sports teams and being involved with schools and local business groups.

“I think that’s the key to this whole thing,” he said.

Clarke said he plans to work out of his home, saving the overhead costs that Karcher incurred by having a district office in Arizona. While food and labor costs won’t vary much, he said, he believes he can save money on such expenses as insurance.