Karcher Demands Retraction From Food Chain Chief : Food service: A company spokesman labeled the letter from the founder of Carl’s Jr. as a ‘rehash of old material’ and a ‘tactic designed to get ink.’

Hamburger chain founder Carl N. Karcher on Friday repeated his demand that Carl Karcher Enterprises President Donald E. Doyle stop making “unfair, inaccurate, misleading” statements about a supposed deal between Karcher and GB Foods Chairman William Theisen.

Karcher’s letter was the latest development in a highly public feud that’s pitted the Carl’s Jr. founder against Doyle and a majority of the Anaheim-based company’s board of directors.

Karcher was replaced as CKE chairman by board member Elizabeth A. Sanders on Oct. 1, shortly after the board refused to endorse Karcher’s bid to test market GB Foods’ Mexican-style products in a handful of Carl’s Jr. restaurants.

Doyle said that market research conducted by the company failed to support Karcher’s contention that the proposed test was likely to succeed. Doyle also said that Theisen had agreed to loan Karcher $6 million if the test marketing was conducted, an allegation that Karcher repeatedly has denied.

Karcher said Theisen instead had “indicated a desire to purchase $6 million of my CKE stock,” and that the stock purchase was in no way tied to the test.

In his Friday letter, Karcher demanded that Doyle “retract your previous statements, publicly admit that your statements are false, and cease and desist from any such statements in the future.”

Doyle declined to comment on Friday, but CKE spokesman Roger Pondell said the letter “appears to be a rehash of old material that was thoroughly and openly discussed in (news) articles many weeks ago. . . . Providing the letter to reporters is nothing more than a public relations tactic designed to get ink.”

Karcher, who founded the firm 52 years ago, says he will fight to regain control. At the same time, he is trying to solve personal financial problems generated by a string of investments that have gone sour.

Four Orange County businessmen who last month paid off a $4.8 million bank debt that was threatening to topple the fast-food magnate’s personal fortunes now are trying to gain control of 3.9 million additional CKE shares that Karcher pledged to obtain a $25.1 million loan, now in default, from Union Bank.

The group wants to buy the loan from Union Bank, a move which would give it a sizable stake in CKE. The investors, who intend to seek board representation, hope to bring Karcher and Doyle back together.

Union Bank has declined to comment on those negotiations.

CKE on Thursday closed escrow on the purchase of two restaurant properties owned by Karcher. Karcher grossed about $850,000 from the sale of two properties but made only a “very small” profit after repaying debt on them, a spokesman said. Karcher intends to sell a third property back to the company.