Saturday, March 23, 2013

Hardees breakfast is awesome, and should be served all day

Hardees (primarily based in the Southeast) has arguably and unequivocally the best breakfast you will find in fast food. They have platters, sandwiches and their trademark Rise and Shine biscuits.  I stack Hardees biscuits right up there with KFC, Bojangles, and my mother's bread.
Most Hardees restaurants are crowded during their breakfast hours (6am-11am) and they are staffed appropriately to handle these crowds. After 11am till closing time, there aren't many people that come through and not many people working as well. I have found through research and observation that Hardees sales are down once again. They suffered a spike pre-2003 until Carls Jr. bought them out. Now they're back in another downward spiral. 
The first thing I would do to improve sales at Hardees would be to offer breakfast all day long. Bojangles does it, and Carls Jr even offers it. Hardees could as well and it would help, even if only temporarily.
The facts and numbers are there. People love to eat breakfast for any meal. It's delicious and often quick and easy to prepare. That is what has helped chains such as Waffle House thrive.
However, Hardees must go beyond breakfast to continue to be relevant. They have to have the right variety. They must offer more than simply Thickburgers and overpriced double cheeseburgers that wouldn't even satisfy a fifth grader's appetite. They need to restore some of the basics and favorites from the 80s and 90s such as the Fish Filet and the Big Deluxe.
Hardees is in trouble and it's unfortunate because so many people enjoy their food, notably their breakfast. However, like in-store movie rentals, they don't want to fade into obscurity. Think about restaurant chains such as Quincys, Shoneys or Pizza Inn. Remember how good they once were? Now maybe my point is clearer.
It appears Hardees needs executives and management that are trying to see what Carls Jr is doing right and stop trying to be like Jack in The Box or McDonalds and introduce bizarre menu items.
I would love to see Hardees have 24 hour breakfast. However, there are many changes necessary to make this a reality.

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