Harshad Dharod Sells 49 Carl's Jr. California Locations
49 Carl’s Jr. locations in California are up for sale as franchisee Harshad Dharod moves to close 10 branches after filing for bankruptcy protection in April. The plan puts a large Southern and Northern California footprint on the market at once, with National Franchise Sales overseeing the process.
Dharod told the bankruptcy court his outlets had generated more than $6 million in monthly revenue but were losing more than $600,000 per month this year. He said a lack of support and innovation from Carl’s Jr. and higher labor costs tied to a $20 minimum wage left him unable to cover expenses.
National Franchise Sales Takes Over
59 California Carl’s Jr. restaurants sit inside the bankruptcy plan, with 10 set to close and the remaining 49 slated for sale. That breakup matters for employees and operators across both ends of the state, since the portfolio stretches through Southern and Northern California.
A Carl’s Jr. spokesperson said, “This situation is specific to this individual franchisee’s financial and business circumstances” and “This has no impact on the operations of any other Carl’s Jr. locations.” Other Carl’s Jr. stores remain outside the bankruptcy case, even as this franchise group is being reshaped store by store.
California Costs and Sales Pressure
More than $600,000 in monthly losses this year left Dharod with no path to keep the full group intact, according to his court filing. He said the business had become particularly bad over the last two years, a period that overlapped with rising labor costs and what he described as weaker support from the chain.
Workers at a North Hollywood Carl’s Jr. said they had faced violent interactions with customers, including robberies and physical assaults, and said the company refused to provide safety training. That account adds a second layer to the sale: the financial strain is landing alongside workplace risks that employees say they have had to absorb on the ground.
California Franchise Footprint
Carl’s Jr. began in 1941 as a hot dog cart on the corner of Florence and Central in Los Angeles, then opened its first sit-down restaurants with expanded menus in Anaheim in 1946. The smiling yellow star arrived in the 1950s, and the brand spread rapidly across California in the 1970s before commercials in the early 2000s leaned on its California roots.
Over the last 10 years, the company moved its headquarters from Carpinteria to Tennessee, a shift that sits in the background of this California sale. For current workers and potential buyers, the near-term issue is simpler: 10 stores are headed for closure, and 49 more are being marketed under bankruptcy oversight.
