Hardee's closes location in Bear

With the closing in Bear, Hardee's has nine  locations in Delaware and none in  northern  New Castle County.

A Hardee's off Route 40 in Elkton, MD. closed earlier.

Hardee's has closed more than 200 locations in the past five years. 

Hardee's parent company CKE, which also owns the Carl's Junior burger chain on the West Coast, has struggled with Hardee's which operates in the South, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest. Carl's Junior has also struggled, although it has a stronger brand identity in the West.

All burger chains have been coping with the surge in popularity of fried chicken sandwiches. It did not help the Bear Hardee's when Popeye's introduced its popular sandwich at a nearby location.

Industry leader Chick-fil-A operates a restaurant off Route 40 in Bear and is building another off Route 273 in the Christiana area. 

One of the  larger Hardee's  franchisees went into bankruptcy proceedings last year. A new CEO has been working to give the brands  distinct identities. 

The two chains  share many menu items that don't always reflect regional preferences. 

There were also signs that an advertising campaign a decade ago featuring scantily clad  celebrities did not help the image of the chain, although its CEO at the time claimed  the commercials cut through the clutter and aided sales.

The history of Hardee's in Delaware dates back 40 years  to when the former owner of the chain bought Roy Rogers locations, but struggled in converting them to Hardee's stores. 

Roy Roger's, which has  remained in business, often along toll roads, is attempting a comeback and is opening a free-standing location  in southern New Jersey.