Hardee’s founder dies at 89
Wilbur Hardee’s Biscuit Town restaurant idea never took off. Ditto for Hot Dog City and Beef and Shake.But the drive-in restaurant he founded near the campus of East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C. changed the landscape of American fast food.
Mr. Hardee died last week at the ripe old age of 89. He had long since moved on from Hardee’s restaurants, which are now owned by St. Louis-based CKE.
Mr. Hardee told friends that he lost a controlling stake in a card game with his two business partners.
CKE, which also owns Carl’s Jr., turned Hardee’s into the 800-pound gorilla of the fast-food world by unleashing the 1,400-calorie, 107 fat-gram Monster Thickburger in 2004. Tonight Show host Jay Leno joked that the company uses “meat as a condiment” on its burgers.
CKE promptly picked up the line to use in its politically incorrect advertising campaigns, the most notorious of which Paris Hilton washing, um, a car and eating a big burger. The link is included here for research purposes only.
CKE’s chief executive is Andrew Puzder, a one-time St. Louis lawyer who helped write Missouri’s abortion law and was an anti-abortion activist.
John G. Carlton is an editorial writer who covers health care, science, the environment and public utilities. Before joining the editorial page, "Doc" was the newspaper's medical writer for four years. He has also worked at newspapers in Connecticut and New York. He's fond of heavy sarcasm and light anti-tank weapons. He lives in west St. Louis County with his wife, Martha Madigan, their daughter Ana and an overly enthusiastic Australian Shepherd dog, Savannah. 
John Carlton: best link and post on stltoday, ever! had never seen that commercial before; I’ve always liked her; now I love her more than ever; way to show those other bloggers how to do it!