US brand Carl's Jr to open first restaurant in Switzerland this December
By Jan de Boer
From December 12, the residents of Schaffhausen will be able to indulge at one of the oldest US burger restaurant chains in the world, with Carl's Jr. set to open in the city. The company hopes to have 20 different restaurants up and running in the alpine nation in the next six years.
Carl's Jr. to launch in Schaffhausen on December 12
With Five Guys set to take the plunge in German-speaking Switzerland and a number of major discounters and supermarkets set to launch stores across the country, a new American brand has decided to join the fray. According to 20 Minuten, the Spycher Group has gained the licence to launch Carl's Jr. in the alpine nation.
Their first store is due to open in Schaffhausen on December 12, with 20 other stores planned across the country over the next six years. Speaking to 20 Minuten, Matthias Spycher of the Spycher Group said that the menu will feature all the favourites from the classic American menu, with a focus on using Swiss produce.
Carl's Jr.: One of the oldest American fast-food brands
The story of Carl’s Jr. starts with founder Carl Karcher and his wife Magrit selling hot dogs out of a converted car in California in 1941 - making the brand one of the oldest of its kind in the world. Since opening their first restaurants in 1956, the brand has gone from strength to strength and now has over 3.100 different locations worldwide. In terms of the menu, the brand is known for its old-fashioned 100 percent Angus charbroiled burgers, lattice fries and offensively indulgent milkshakes.
Spycher explained that Carl’s Jr. is a good middle ground between fast food and more high-class restaurants, offering table service at fast-food-like speeds. “I discovered Carl's Jr. while studying in Berkeley, California, and it was love at first bite. The quality of the products and the Californian style of the restaurants impressed me then and now. We couldn't miss the opportunity to bring the great brand to Switzerland,” Spycher concluded.
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Jan studied History at the University of York and Broadcast Journalism at the University of Sheffield. Though born in York, Jan has lived most of his life in Zurich and has worked as a journalist, writer and editor since 2016.
While he has plunged head-first back into life in Switzerland since returning to the country in 2020, he still enjoys a taste of home at pub quizzes and karaoke nights.Read more