Hardee's(R) Presents Awards to Franchisees

ST. LOUIS, May 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Hardee's Food Systems, Inc. recently honored several franchisee owners/groups with awards for outstanding performance during the past year. The 2007 awards, given for sales and operations performance in calendar year 2006, were presented at the company's annual franchisee meeting, held in Las Vegas.

Award winners by category include: -- Franchisee of the Year - John T. McGinnis (21+ units); Geneva Enterprises, LLC (6-20 units); Oshkosh Restaurants (2-5 units); Leslie Barker (single unit) -- Restaurant Sales - OTAC, Inc. (highest sales volume, Southgate, Md.); Saulat Enterprises (highest comparable sales percentage increase, Hinesville, Ga.) -- Franchisee Sales (21+ units) - Boddie Noell Enterprises (highest average unit volume); Heritage Assets LLC (highest comparable sales percentage increase) -- Franchisee Sales (6-20 units) - OTAC, Inc. (highest average unit volume); Restaurant Management Group (highest comparable sales percentage increase) -- Franchisee Sales (2-5 units) - Tall Corn Corporation (highest average unit volume); Dhimant Soni (highest comparable sales percentage increase) -- Franchisee Sales (single unit) - Marilyn Haberkamp (highest average unit volume); Robert Wiggins (highest comparable sales percentage increase)

In addition to sales awards, awards were given to several franchisees for Operational Excellence. To qualify, a franchise restaurant had to receive platinum QA audits, score 90 percent or higher on operational assessments and receive one or fewer guest complaints per period.

Winners included Dermox, Inc. of WV for two stores -- Beckley 4 and South Williamson in West Virginia; John Figlewicz for his store in Spencer, Iowa; Francieco LP for the store in Marshall, Mich.; The Hastings Company for its store in Jefferson, N.C.; Northland Restaurant Group for its store in Mandan, N.D.; and Restaurant Management Group for two stores - Parkersburg 4, W. Va. And Mount Carmel, Tenn.

"All of our franchise award winners share Hardee's commitment to provide their guests with the best food, service and dining experience in the industry. It is a pleasure to have them on the Hardee's team," said Michael Murphy, CKE Restaurants, Inc. executive vice president, franchising and general counsel. "Hardee's recent success is due in large part to the hard work and dedication of our franchisees. We hope that all of our owners and operators are inspired by these achievements, and will help lead us toward another successful year in 2007."

Hardee's Food Systems, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of CKE Restaurants, Inc. of Carpinteria, Calif. As of the fourth fiscal quarter ended Jan. 29, 2007, CKE Restaurants, Inc., through its subsidiaries, had a total of 3,105 franchised or company-operated restaurants in 43 states and in 13 countries, including 1,087 Carl's Jr.(R) restaurants, 1,906 Hardee's restaurants and 96 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 314-259-6277 jmochal@ckr.com