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A major Hardee’s franchisee has filed for bankruptcy protection, adding to a growing list of financial disputes between the burger chain’s parent company and its independent operators. Superior Star LLC, a Phoenix-based franchisee, filed for Chapter 11 in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Kentucky on July 9. The filing lists between $10 million and $50 million in assets and liabilities.
Superior Star currently operates 59 Hardee’s locations spread across 10 Midwestern states. The company originally purchased 93 locations from a seller named Starcorp LLC in 2023 and has since closed roughly 12 of those restaurants.
What triggered the Hardee’s franchisee bankruptcy filing
The filing centers on a seller financing dispute between Superior Star and Starcorp. Starcorp holds a $7.04 million seller note that remains in dispute and subject to setoff. That conflict is the largest item among Superior Star’s creditor list.
Other creditors named in the court papers include Lionsgate Investment, owed over $184,000 in terminated leases, and Kosmides Family Trust, owed over $147,000 in a settlement. FJ Enterprises LLC is owed over $144,000, McLane Company is owed over $138,000 for food products and MB2K LLC is owed over $123,000 in rent. The Chapter 11 filing invoked an automatic stay, halting all current legal actions against the company while the bankruptcy case proceeds.
Hardee’s parent company CKE Restaurants acknowledged the filing and said Superior Star’s decision reflects its own specific financial circumstances. The franchisor added that it remains focused on strengthening the broader Hardee’s system.
The broader Hardee’s franchisee crisis taking shape
Superior Star’s filing is not the first franchisee dispute to reach this point. Another Hardee’s operator, ARC Burger LLC, closed all 77 of its locations in late 2025 after CKE filed a lawsuit seeking to recover more than $6.5 million in unpaid franchise fees and other obligations. ARC then filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation in April 2026. CKE has since reopened 25 of those locations as company-operated stores and plans to reopen more.
A third franchisee, Paradigm Investment Group, which operated 76 Hardee’s restaurants across Alabama, Florida, Mississippi and Tennessee, battled CKE over demands including staying open past 2 p.m., paying digital fees and participating in loyalty programs. CKE sent Paradigm a formal default and termination notice in January 2025. The dispute ended the franchisee’s agreements.
CKE Restaurants operates more than 3,800 Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. restaurants across 44 states and 43 countries. The pattern of franchisee disputes signals growing tension between the franchisor and operators over fees, operational requirements and financial obligations.
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