School starts here in early August. Seeing ads for back-to-school sales almost a month later is weird. Esp. since some of them include items like heavy winter coats, scarves, mittens, etc. You see people Christmas shopping in shorts here.
Around here, the main reason we like them are the fountain drinks. They have a lot more variety that most places. Also, their ice is rather good, and so consistent in different locales that I have to think they ship it in or something.
Foodwise, it’s mostly only notable for the things that other fast food doesn’t have, like the Cheddar Bites (fried little cheese balls) or, in our area, tater tots.
Every place I know that does lunch has a buffet.
The two chains were originally completely separate and unrelated regional chains. Carl’s Jr. was originally in southern California, and had expanded to the rest of the West Coast, plus the Southwest (though I think that, to this day, they’re still concentrated in California); Hardee’s was in the Southeast, Midwest, and East Coast.
Carl’s Jr bought Hardee’s in '97, and though the two chains appear to now have the same menu, the company has always kept the branding and regionality separate. So, if you live an area with Hardee’s, you probably won’t have Carl’s Jr, and vice-versa.