Carl’s Jr. takes a shot at rival Jack in the Box
Carl’s, owned by the Nashville-based CKE Restaurants, will give members of its loyalty program a free Sourdough Star burger if they show evidence that they passed a Jack in the Box restaurant.
June 23, 2026
Carl’s Jr. is taking a shot at California-centric burger rival Jack in the Box.
Carl’s, which is owned by the Nashville-based CKE Restaurants, has kicked off a marketing campaign called “Pass on Jack” that rewards customers for driving past a Jack in the Box to get to a Carl’s.
Members of Carl’s loyalty program who provide evidence that they did indeed drive past a Jack in the Box will earn a free Sourdough Star burger in the Carl’s Jr. app. The program kicked off on Tuesday.
Customers can upload their screenshot of a GPS route or any other proof that they passed a Jack in the Box to reach a Carl’s. Customers with qualifying submissions can redeem them until July 7.
“When hunger strikes on a road trip, it’s tempting to pull over at the first burger joint you see,” Paz Romero, VP of brand marketing for Carl’s, said in a statement. “This summer, we know our loyal fans and new customers are bound to drive by a Carl’s Jr., so we want to reward them for stopping at the best burger option on the road.”
Fast-food customers have been cutting back on their restaurant visits, which has intensified the industry’s competitiveness, leading to major shifts in customer visits from one competitor to the other.
And there’s little question that Carl’s and Jack in the Box are big rivals. Robert Peterson opened the first Jack in the Box in San Diego in 1951 and the chain is still based there. Carl and Margaret Karcher opened the first Carl’s Jr. in Anaheim five years later, though they’d operated a hot dog cart and a barbecue restaurant before then.
Both chains are largely located in Western states. Both were created in California in the 1950s and maintain a heavy presence there. Jack in the Box operates 938 locations in the state, according to data from Nation’s Restaurant News sibling company Technomic, or 44% of the chain’s more than 2,100 locations.
Carl’s is even more California heavy, operating 629 of its 992 U.S. locations in the state, or 63.4%.
Both chains have struggled in recent years as consumers have cut back on fast-food visits, and high costs in California take their toll on franchisees. Carl’s U.S. system sales fell 6% and the chain closed nearly 4% of its domestic locations. It does better outside the U.S., where its location count grew by 6.9% last year.
Jack in the Box, which is overseen now by an interim CEO, Mark King, saw sales fall 4.3% last year. It closed 2.5% of its U.S. restaurants.
Carl’s Jr. is also using the opportunity to market its Sourdough Star, which the company brought back last month for a limited time. The burger features a charbroiled patty topped with two strips of bacon, classic sauce, grilled onions, melted American cheese, lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise on toasted sourdough bread.
About the Author
Jonathan Maze
Editor in Chief, Restaurant Business
Restaurant Business Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Maze is a longtime industry journalist who writes about restaurant finance, mergers and acquisitions and the economy, with a particular focus on quick-service restaurants. He writes daily about the factors influencing the operating environment, including labor and food costs and various industry trends such as technology and delivery.
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