Hardee’s is clawing back territory just months after one of its biggest franchise operators imploded, reopening a chunk of the 77 restaurants that went dark in ARC Burger’s bankruptcy collapse.
According to Fast Company, the chain has already restarted operations at 15 former ARC Burger locations in Georgia, Missouri, and South Carolina, and says more than 40 others could follow.
The comeback arrives after ARC abruptly shut down all 77 stores in December 2025, setting off a wave of closures across several states and wiping out roughly 1,600 jobs just before Christmas.
The fast-food giant’s corporate office says the reopened stores are now corporate-run, with recent job postings for those locations explicitly labeling them “now corporate-owned.” Several listings were marked as urgent, suggesting the company is moving quickly to staff kitchens and get drive-thrus running again.
The stores had been operated by ARC Burger, a franchisee formed in 2023 by High Bluff Capital Partners, which also owns chains including Quiznos and Taco Del Mar.
ARC bought 80 Hardee’s locations from another distressed operator, Summit Restaurant Holdings, only to spiral into its own crisis not long after.
Hardee’s later sued ARC, alleging the company failed to pay about $6.5 million in royalties, rent, advertising fees, and other obligations.
ARC eventually filed for Chapter 7 liquidation with more than $29 million in debt, including unpaid taxes and wages.
Hardee’s framed the reopenings as a return to form. “We are pleased to have recently reopened 15 locations in the Georgia, Missouri, and South Carolina markets as Hardee’s corporate restaurants,” a company spokesperson told Fast Company, adding that the reopenings are part of a broader plan to resume operations at dozens more former ARC sites.
The company also said it is exploring ways to bring back other shuttered stores outside the ARC portfolio, either through franchisees or direct ownership.
ARC, meanwhile, has argued in court that Hardee’s handed over troubled restaurants with failing equipment and poor conditions, then failed to provide the support needed to keep the business stable.
In legal filings, the franchisee accused Hardee’s of using litigation to squeeze an operator already stuck with expensive repairs and underperforming stores.
Founded in North Carolina in 1960, the brand built its name on charbroiled burgers and made-from-scratch biscuits, and the fast-food giant still has a large presence across the South and Midwest.
