I just checked the menu on Chicken Treat website and saw a dozen items which are not available at Red Rooster.
According to CT’s franchise page, it is expanding into NSW, ACT and Victoria, but so far only four franchises in Sydney and one in Canberra are available.
Speaking of Oporto, the last one heading from Sydney before going into the ACT is suprisingly not Goulburn but my local one at Mittagong near the BP on the Old Hume Highway on the Eastern End of Mittagong. I would sometimes go there for lunch and have a Bondi Burger.
Also, there were rumours of a Hungry Jacks being built in Mittagong next to that EG station that is now branded as EG Ampol. Plus a KFC is under construction in Moss Vale near the Mobil and Dominos on Argyle Street.
Finally, it was meant to open last month. Haven’t had Carl’s Jr in ages as the closest was Melbourne or Ballarat
No Carls Jr’s in or around Canberra yet which is surprising. I would have thought Queanbeyan or Woden would have been a goer, or perhaps Goulburn or Yass on the Hume. I suppose it’s a matter of getting suitable sites that generate a significant ROI. Remember fast food is a real estate business.
There are two NSW outlets that are opening soon according to the website: Bringelly and Dubbo. But overall they seem to have focused on QLD and VIC, even SA, more than NSW.
I would prefer Carls over McDonalds or HJs if in need of a quick fatty fix.
The Carls Jr expansion plan in Australia has been… weird to say the least.
Rural cities and far outer suburbia seem to be the preference, even now though they do have a few inner suburban locales now.
I can understand the focus on regional locations to some extent; the real estate would be somewhat cheaper than high rent capital city blocks. Regional centres like Ballarat and Shepparton offer a good compromise between high traffic and moderate rent.
Hume Highway locations are obviously in high demand as they are a proven cash cow (ugh) for fast food outlets.
Carls Jr came with a fairly optimistic plan to open stores - they got advice that one of the biggest issues to that was that they’d face delays in the planning approval process, so they put effort into getting a whole range of locations scoped, selected and approved for construction. But they started to get approvals reasonably quickly and in locations, they didn’t necessarily want to go into first and they started to slow down.
Something has clearly changed with the rollout plans because they’ve really backed off their efforts - I’m told they sit on a significant number of approved locations and a lack of franchisees to move on the sites, its likely a number of approvals will lapse due to inactivity as well.
Wonder what the pricing is like - inflation seems to be hitting fast food particularly hard in the US.
Will this be extending to Australia?
McDonald’s has brought back Mighty Angus burger and Mozzarella Sticks with Chunky Tomato Relish, and introduced two new desserts: a Crème Brulée McFlurry and Crème Brulée Pie. The four items are now available for a limited time.
Nothing in Perth yet. 
HJ’s are about 10-20 years late to the game. McCafe launched in the 90s and got really visible in the early-mid 2000s, servos have been putting in their own baristas for about 10+ years, and the indie coffee shop/cafe trend has exploded over the last decade.
Jack’s Cafe (at the moment) is also nothing more than a coffee machine plonked onto the front counter servo-style, McCafe and indie coffee shops have a cafe atmosphere. They’ll do well based on where they are and convenience but I can’t see it taking off.
Very late to the game. They needed to do something to remain competitive though. Their previous coffee offer was so outdated. No better than a self-serve machine in a laundromat.
It’s all about the drive-thru sales I reckon. HJ’s will never have a modern cozy indoor atmosphere.
I’ve noticed their ads reference ‘pick one up in Drive Thru’ so seems they are pushing that more so than coming in and dining in. HJ’s have never been able to excel in the restaurant space.
That’s what it was 12-13 years back when I was getting coffee from HJ’s and it wasn’t very good coffee then.
‘Jack’s Cafe’ has been there a while in Queanbeyan; I’m assuming this may have been a test store? Canberra and Newcastle are often the early proving grounds.
McDonalds coffee is crap; I’m assuming HJ’s is worse.
