It's time to wish a happy birthday to a classic restaurant chain that got its start right here in North Carolina!
Before Hardee's became the fifth-largest fast-food restaurant chain in the United States, the first locations were in eastern North Carolina.
On Sept. 3, 1960, Wilbur Hardee opened a drive-in hamburger stand in Greenville.
Hardee was a Martin County farm boy and a cook in the Navy during World War II. The first Hardee's was a hit with students at nearby East Carolina University, selling charcoal-broiled hamburgers and milkshakes for 15 cents each.
In 1961, Hardee opened a second restaurant in Rocky Mount and expanded to five locations in 1963.
Hardee lost controlling interest in the operation that same year during a card game with his partners. He later sold his remaining shares for $37,000.
In 1997, St. Louis-based CKE Restaurants Inc. bought Hardee’s, which last year boasted more than 2,000 locations worldwide and $1.8 billion in revenue.
During his life, Hardee opened 85 restaurants in the southeast such as Biscuit Town, Hot Dog City and Beef and Shake. Hardee opened another hamburger chain called Little Mint that had 25 locations in the Carolinas at one point.
Hardee died in 2008 when he was 89.
Hardee's was based in Rocky Mount, North Carolina until 2001 and is now headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee.
