ST. LOUIS — Wilbur Hardee, 89, founder of Hardee's restaurants, died Friday, June 20, 2008.
Hardee, who was born Aug. 15, 1917, in the rural community of Martin County, N.C., opened his first restaurants in North Carolina with the help of his first wife, the late Kathryn Roebuck Hardee.
Hardee's first restaurants included the Do Drop Inn, Port Terminal Inn (both of which he later sold) and the Silo Restaurant. One of the most forward-thinking entrepreneurs of his time, Hardee studied the things that the public seems to respond to the most at existing quick-serve restaurants at the time and an idea formed that would evolve into the first Hardee's restaurant concept.
On Sept. 3, 1960, Hardee opened his new restaurant, a drive-in, on the busy corner of 14th and Charles Streets in what was then a popular cruising district near the East Carolina University campus in Greenville, N.C. The very first Hardee's had no tables, no waiters and only a few items on the menu. But, the drive-thru restaurant was an immediate success. The main attraction was a 15-cent fresh-ground, lean-beef burger that was made to order on a custom-built charcoal broiler.
The successful business model soon attracted interested partners. Jim Gardner and Leonard Rawls made the trip across the state to meet with Hardee and discuss plans for expansion. The trio soon formed a partnership and opened the first Hardee's franchise restaurant in Rocky Mount, N.C., on May 5, 1961.
Rawls had attended high school with two other entrepreneurial spirits, Nick and Mayo Boddie. They would eventually team up with their uncle, Carleton Noell, and form Boddie-Noell Enterprises (BNE). Upon viewing the enormous success of the early Hardee's restaurants, the industrious group bought five franchises for $1,500 each. Today, BNE operates just under 350 Hardee's restaurants, making them the brand's largest privately held franchisee.
Hardee eventually severed ties with his partners, who quickly turned the Hardee's name into one of the most recognized restaurants in the nation. The company went public in 1963, expanded rapidly with more than 1,900 locations across the Midwest and Southeast today, as well as more than 75 international locations, mainly in the Middle East. The Hardee's corporate offices remained in Rocky Mount until 2001, when parent company CKE moved Hardee's headquarters to its present location in downtown St. Louis.
Hardee remained a restaurant mainstay in North Carolina, even without his signature restaurant. Between 1949 and 1991, he began 85 restaurants throughout the Southeast.
Funeral arrangements are being made by Wilkerson Funeral Home & Crematory. A private memorial service will be held at a later date.
Hardee was preceded in death by his first wife and daughters Janie Hardee Smith and Doris Rae Hardee. He is survived by wife of 22 years, Helen Galloway Hardee; daughters, Ann Hardee Riggs, Mary Kathryn Hardee Baker, and Becky Hardee Eissens; step-daughter, Patricia Vernon Phelps; grandchildren Gregory Lee Riggs, Scottie Smith, the Rev. Marcus L. Riggs, James Wesley Riggs, James William Hodges, Yvonne Hardee Moore, Skylar Alexis Stox and Sierra Grace Stox; and nine great-grandchildren.
