In 1945, the Karchers moved the short distance to Anaheim, California, and opened their first full-service restaurant, Carl's Drive-In Barbecue at 1108 North Palm Street (now Harbor Boulevard).

[8] The first local Carl's Jr. was built in 1956 on the former Janss Street next to St. Boniface Catholic Church about half a block away from Anaheim High School.

The menus were limited for faster service, featuring charbroiled hamburgers, hot dogs, fries, and malts.

[9] Carl's Jr. also experimented with fast-food Mexican cuisine in the 1970s and early 1980s with a spin-off called Taco de Carlos.

Carl's Jr.'s menu expanded during the decade with the addition of the Western Bacon Cheeseburger, breakfast items, a charbroiled chicken sandwich line, and self-service soda fountains.

[13] Soon after, the board of directors took a new approach by cutting the menu, lowering prices, and introducing a new marketing campaign which targeted younger urban and suburban males.

[8] Following Don Karcher's death in 1992, a new management team was installed in 1994, headed by CEO William P. Foley II and President and Chief Operating Officer Tom Thompson.

A spokeswoman for CKE Restaurants said Karcher suffered from Parkinson's disease and was being treated for Parkinson's-related pneumonia when he died at St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton, California.

[16] Although both Hardee's and Carl's Jr operated essentially as one brand since 1997, CKE Restaurants announced plans to try to separate their identities in 2018.

[19] In February 2024, all Carl’s Jr locations in the Bakersfield, CA area permanently removed the Beyond Burger from its menu.

[23] As of 2017, CKE (the parent company of Carl's Jr. and Hardee's) has a total of 3665 franchised or company-operated restaurants in 44 states and 39 foreign countries and U.S. territories.

Outside of the U.S., Carl's Jr. is currently present in Australia, Belarus, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada (western provinces), Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Indonesia (Closed in December 2023, reopened in July 2024), Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Panama, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Turkey, and Vietnam.

[24] In May 2024, the Boparan Restaurant Group announced it would begin a master license agreement with Carl's Jr., bringing the chain to the United Kingdom.

[26][27] Suspected factors of the collapse include reduced discretional spending, increased costs, and overly optimistic expansion to places 'in the middle of nowhere' amid fierce market saturation.

[29] CKE conducts an annual Stars for Heroes in-store fundraising campaign at both Carl's Jr. and Hardee's to benefit U.S. military veterans and their families.

In several Western U.S. locations, Carl's Jr. parent CKE has begun operating co-branded restaurants with its Green Burrito group.

However, in June of that same year, Carl's Jr pulled his commercials for good after he was fined a then-record $50,000 for using profanity against Mormons during a game in Salt Lake City, Utah.

In 2005, Carl's Jr. launched a marketing campaign featuring bikini-clad models posing suggestively to capture the "hungry, young guy" demographic.

The advertisements were criticized for objectifying women and prompted calls to boycott Carl's Jr.[37] Company CEO Andrew Puzder defended the campaign in Entrepreneur magazine, saying, "I like our ads.

The ad features Paris Hilton in a provocative swimsuit soaping up a Bentley automobile and crawling all over it before taking a big bite out of her burger and giving her signature phrase, "That's hot.

[14] With the two chains selling many common menu items by 2013, Carl's Jr. began to advertise nationally in conjunction with Hardee's for products sold by both brands.

In January 2015, Carl's Jr. released a commercial online featuring model Charlotte McKinney advertising its new All Natural Burger to air regionally during Super Bowl XLIX.

As of June 2016, Charlotte McKinney's "Au Natural" ad debut has garnered over 4.5 billion media impressions worldwide[46] and more than 13 million views on the chains' YouTube channel.

The commercial marked a turning point in CKE's advertising, claiming it wanted to move away from its provocative ads and focus more on food and as a competitor to Five Guys, Steak 'n Shake, and In-N-Out Burger.