Carl Karcher Enterprises Inc

Carl Karcher Enterprises Inc. closed escrow Thursday on the purchase of two of its financially troubled founder's Orange County restaurant properties. Carl N. Karcher sold the land under the Carl's Jr. fast-food facilities in Anaheim and Garden Grove to the company to raise much-needed cash. The company had been leasing the two sites from him. Karcher, who was fired as chairman of the company in October, has lost millions of dollars in real estate investments in recent years.

Daniel Holden might count himself lucky that he moved out of the old neighborhood a year ago. His longtime Anaheim friends haven't known quite what to make of him since he had a falling out with one of their own: Carl Karcher. For more than 30 years, a dozen families living within blocks of each other have attended the same Catholic church, sent their children to the same schools and socialized at the same parties.

A stalled bid by Carl N. Karcher to raise cash by selling three Carl's Jr. restaurant locations is apparently back on track. Karcher, who owns five Carl's Jrs. that are leased back to parent company Carl Karcher Enterprises Inc., wants to sell three of those restaurants for $1.9 million to help generate cash and ease a personal money crisis.

The war of words between Carl N. Karcher and the fast-food chain he founded 52 years ago escalated Friday, with both sides posting letters to potential supporters. Karcher wrote to franchisees who operate about 240 of the 650 Carl's Jr. locations that company President Donald E. Doyle Jr. had a simple reason for supporting Karcher's ouster as chairman two weeks ago. Doyle, Karcher said, wants to "take control of Carl Karcher Enterprises . . .

Fast-food magnate Carl N. Karcher built his personal fortune on the principle of the gentlemen's agreement: that business is best conducted with friends and that deals are best sealed with a handshake. With Southern California's economy mired in recession, however, that strategy has led Karcher, who founded the Carl's Jr. fast-food chain in 1941, onto shaky financial ground. One particular investment epitomizes how Karcher, now 76, has always done business--and how his investments have crumbled.

An investment in a now-defunct Fontana building-products company is adding to Carl N. Karcher's financial woes, court documents show. Karcher, founder of the Carl's Jr. restaurant chain, invested more than $4.5 million in Trusscrete Corp., which folded in 1990 without ever having turned a profit. Now, in a case set for trial early next year, a former Trusscrete customer is suing Karcher for more than $4 million in connection with a disputed 1987 business deal.

An investment in a now-defunct Fontana building-products company is adding to Carl N. Karcher's financial woes, court documents show. Karcher, founder of the Carl's Jr. restaurant chain, invested more than $4.5 million in Trusscrete Corp., which folded in 1990 without ever having turned a profit. Now, in a case set for trial early next year, a former Trusscrete customer is suing Karcher for more than $4 million in connection with a disputed 1987 business deal.

Sometimes you have to look for the silver lining. When financially troubled fast-food magnate Carl N. Karcher left his office Oct. 1 after being ousted as chairman, he was tailed by a television news crew, which remained in the chase even after Karcher's car pulled away from the company's Anaheim headquarters. Karcher, who was heading for Los Angeles, eventually decided to grant an interview--but on familiar turf. The 76-year-old businessman ordered his driver to pull into a nearby Carl's Jr.

Four Orange County investors, led by title insurance industry executive William P. Foley II, have agreed to pay off a $4.8-million bank debt for Carl N. Karcher, a move that should ease the fast-food magnate's personal financial crisis. The deal, which could be completed as soon as today, calls for the investors to take control of 641,000 shares of Carl Karcher Enterprises that Karcher had pledged as collateral to Commercial Center Bank in Anaheim for the loan.