Roy Rogers Restaurants

Roy Rogers, the "King of the Cowboys" who sang, smiled and occasionally shot his way into the hearts of multitudes of Little Buckaroos, died Monday. He was 86. Rogers died of congestive heart failure in his Apple Valley home near Victorville, with his wife and co-star Dale Evans and other family members at his side. He had undergone heart surgery in 1977 and 1990 and had been somewhat frail in recent years.

Roy Rogers, the "King of the Cowboys" who sang, smiled and occasionally shot his way into the hearts of multitudes of Little Buckaroos, died Monday. He was 86. Rogers died of congestive heart failure in his Apple Valley home near Victorville, with his wife and co-star Dale Evans and other family members at his side. He had undergone heart surgery in 1977 and 1990 and had been somewhat frail in recent years.

The operator of 18 Roy Rogers restaurants in New York filed suit Wednesday seeking $10 million in damages against Hardee's Food Systems, its parent company and Anaheim-based CKE Restaurants Inc. The suit claims Hardee's--which CKE plans to acquire from Montreal-based Imasco Ltd. in July--destroyed the Roy Rogers chain through "a series of marketing errors of epic proportions."

The operator of 18 Roy Rogers restaurants in New York filed suit Wednesday seeking $10 million in damages against Hardee's Food Systems, its parent company and Anaheim-based CKE Restaurants Inc. The suit claims Hardee's--which CKE plans to acquire from Montreal-based Imasco Ltd. in July--destroyed the Roy Rogers chain through "a series of marketing errors of epic proportions."

The Hardee's restaurant chain will buy Marriott Corp.'s Roy Rogers restaurant business for $365 million, the companies announced today. William E. Prather Jr., president of Hardee's Food Systems Inc., said the acquisition will improve his company's presence in the Northeast. Marriott said last month that it would sell the Roy Rogers fast food chain consisting of more than 600 restaurants located primarily in the Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York areas as part of a restructuring.

Imasco to Sell Roy Rogers Chain: The Montreal-based company said it will sell the restaurants and take a fourth-quarter charge of $239 million to fire 279 workers and close a food plant in North Carolina. Imasco Ltd. said it is taking the action to concentrate on its Hardees restaurant business, which has struggled to integrate the Roy Rogers chain since its purchase in 1990.

Marriott Corp. has agreed to buy nine Jolly Roger restaurants--including three in Orange County--from Trans/Pacific Restaurants Inc. for an undisclosed sum. The restaurants will keep the Jolly Roger name for the immediate future. But Marriott plans eventually to convert them to the chain's new family restaurant--Allie's--said Richard Sneed, Marriott's manager of public relations.

Several restaurant chains well known in Southern California--including Stuart Anderson's Black Angus and the Velvet Turtle--will be sold by their new owner, Marriott Corp., to a group of private investors, Marriott said Monday. Anwar Soliman, who resigned last month as group executive of W. R. Grace & Co.'s restaurant division, leads the investors group that has signed a letter of intent to buy about 300 restaurants.

Talent agent William Arthur Rush, who at one time managed the careers of such stars as Nelson Eddy, Jackie Gleason, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, died Sunday in Burbank of complications from a Thanksgiving auto accident, family members said Wednesday. He was 81. Born in 1907 in Graysville, Pa., Rush came to Los Angeles in 1931 and quickly became West Coast manager for RCA Victor.

J. Willard Marriott, who started a root beer stand with borrowed money and turned it into the Marriott hotel and restaurant conglomerate, died of an apparent heart attack, hospital officials said today. He was 84. Marriott was taken by ambulance from his Tuftonboro summer home, overlooking Lake Winnipesaukee, to Huggins Hospital at 8 p.m. Tuesday. He was pronounced dead at 9:19 p.m., hospital supervisor Marilyn Barba said. Marriott was chairman of the Marriott Corp., based in Rockville, Md.

Imasco to Sell Roy Rogers Chain: The Montreal-based company said it will sell the restaurants and take a fourth-quarter charge of $239 million to fire 279 workers and close a food plant in North Carolina. Imasco Ltd. said it is taking the action to concentrate on its Hardees restaurant business, which has struggled to integrate the Roy Rogers chain since its purchase in 1990.

The Hardee's restaurant chain will buy Marriott Corp.'s Roy Rogers restaurant business for $365 million, the companies announced today. William E. Prather Jr., president of Hardee's Food Systems Inc., said the acquisition will improve his company's presence in the Northeast. Marriott said last month that it would sell the Roy Rogers fast food chain consisting of more than 600 restaurants located primarily in the Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York areas as part of a restructuring.

Hoping to cash in on growing consumer demand for healthier restaurant food, Carl Karcher Enterprises said Monday it plans to open as many as 300 Boston Chicken Inc. restaurants in Southern California and Sacramento. The move, under which Anaheim-based Karcher Enterprises is buying Boston Chicken franchise rights for an undisclosed amount, is designed to augment flagging profits at the parent company of the Carl's Jr.

Hoping to cash in on growing consumer demand for healthier restaurant food, Carl Karcher Enterprises said Monday it plans to open as many as 300 Boston Chicken Inc. outlets in Southern California and Sacramento. The move is designed to augment flagging profits at Anaheim-based Karcher Enterprises by giving the parent company of the Carl's Jr. hamburger chain a strong presence in the fast-growing broiled chicken segment of the market.