The chain recently opened its first site in the UK
The US burger chain is looking to come to Manchester(Image: Boparan Restaurant Group)
A popular California food chain has its eyes set on Manchester to open up a brand new site. The famous burger restaurant began opening its doors across the UK this week.
Carl’s Jr. – renowned Californian burger chain – opened its doors in Cardiff on Thursday, April 3, in St. David’s Shopping Centre – with people queuing up outside the restaurant to get a taste of the bold flavours the brand is known for.
The opening marks the start of an ambitious plan for the brand, with its operator Boparan Restaurant Group (BPG) announcing in March that they aim to open at least 100 sites across the county within four years.
A second site is set to be opened before the summer in the south of England.
And the Manchester Evening News can confirm that the group has its eyes set on Manchester for another one of its future sites – but no set date or location has been released by the company.
Although details of any opening are yet to be confirmed, the city is already in talks of being one of the first locations it may come to next.
This will be good news for fast food enjoyers, as Carl’s Jr. is renowned for having some of the best burgers in the business.
The chain’s opening in Cardiff saw more than 200 transactions in its first hour of trading and people were queuing up for hours before the site even opened its doors.
The queue outside of Carl’s Jr. when it opened in Cardiff(Image: Boparan Restaurant Group)
Rodrigo de la Torre, interim president of Carl’s Jr.’s parent organisation CKE International, described the opening as “one of our most successful openings in Europe to date and we look forward to seeing Boparan’s continued success.”
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Speaking to Restaurant Online, David Moffat, country manager for Carl’s Jr. UK said: “We’re looking at a steady rollout with a target of 100 restaurants plus in four years.
“We’ll open a number of corporate stores that we’ll retain as we go along and we’ll also go into the sub franchise market, which we hope to begin actioning towards the end of the year. We’ve had a lot of interest from big group franchisees already.”
The UK is likely to have the smallest Carl’s Jr. menu outside the US, and diners in Manchester can expect the core products, including burgers, chicken and fries
Cardiff’s menu currently features classic burgers, Big Angus Burgers, Chicken Burgers, signature sides – such as the Jalapeno Cheese Poppers – and a range of desserts including ice cream shakes, sundaes and brownies.
But the fast food giant is also going to launch a breakfast menu around the end of April, set to rival McDonalds with its popular morning items.
BPG also operates Slim Chickens which has seen a big growth in the UK, and currently has two popular sites in Manchester.