Latest news with #Hardee
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Small Illinois town becomes the set of a John Goodman movie overnight
MONTICELLO, Ill. (WTVO) — Monticello, a small town near Champaign, became the set of a film called 'Chili Finger' overnight. John Goodman and Bryan Cranston, among many more celebrities, filmed inside a former Hardee's. The movie, based on a true story, follows the efforts of a woman who found a finger in her bowl of chili to leverage the situation for a payout. Goodman's likeness replaced the fast food chain's sign. Residents have been in a frenzy to get a look at some of the nation's most well-known celebrities. 'John Goodman and Sean Astin, and I can't remember who else was in it, but I was like, these are like legit stars,' said Monticello resident Andrew Bailey. 'It's so cool. I've seen tons of movies with them.' 'I looked up and I said, 'That woman in line looked so familiar,' and we waited for her to speak,' said Owner of the Brown Bag, Leslie Sims. Sims could not believe her eyes when she saw actress Judy Greer standing in front of her ordering a sandwich. Business owners around the area have cited an uptick in the local economy. 'The restaurants were full last night. The parking lot was full,' said Monticello resident Susan Chumbley. Film crews will be moving from Monticello to Paxton on Friday to shoot the next portion of the movie. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
School year coming to end for 16 Florida counties. Others have to wait a little longer. See list
The last day of the 2025-2026 school year has arrived for students in 16 Florida counties, who will bid farewell to their teachers and classrooms either May 22 or May 23. Most counties will keep students in school until next week, with the school year ending sometime during the week following the Memorial Day holiday. Students in seven counties will stay in school until early June. For counties where school is still in session, all students will be off for the Memorial Day holiday on Monday, May 26. Meanwhile, a state law that required later start times for middle and high school students beginning in the 2026-2027 school year may not happen. Columbia: May 23 last day of school Escambia: May 23 last day of school Gadsden: May 23 last day of school Hamilton: May 23 last day of school Hardee: May 23 last day of school Highlands: May 23 last day of school Jackson: May 23 last day of school Jefferson: May 23 last day of school Lafayette: May 23 last day of school Leon: May 23 last day of school Madison: May 22 last day of school Suwannee: May 23 last day of school Taylor: May 29 last day of school Union: May 23 last day of school Wakulla: May 23 last day of school Washington: May 23 last day of school Alachua: Closed May 26 for Memorial Day. June 3 last day of school Baker: Closed May 26 for Memorial Day. May 28 last day of school Bay: Closed May 26 for Memorial Day. May 28 last day of school Bradford: Closed May 26 for Memorial Day. May 28 last day of school Brevard: Closed May 26 for Memorial Day. May 28 last day of school Broward: Closed May 26 for Memorial Day. June 5 last day of school Calhoun: Closed May 26 for Memorial Day. May 28 last day of school Charlotte: Closed May 26 for Memorial Day. May 29 last day of school Citrus: Closed May 26 for Memorial Day. May 30 last day of school Clay: Closed May 26 for Memorial Day. May 30 last day of school Collier: Closed May 26 for Memorial Day. May 30 last day of school Columbia: May 23 last day of school DeSoto: Closed May 26 for Memorial Day. May 29 last day of school Dixie: Closed May 26 for Memorial Day. June 2 last day of school Duval: Closed May 26 for Memorial Day. May 30 last day of school Escambia: May 23 last day of school Flagler: Closed May 26 for Memorial Day. May 29 last day of school Franklin: Closed May 26 for Memorial Day. May 29 last day of school Gadsden: May 23 last day of school Gilchrist: Closed May 26 for Memorial Day. May 30 last day of school Glades: Closed May 26 for Memorial Day. May 30 last day of school Gulf: Closed May 26 for Memorial Day. May 28 last day of school Hamilton: May 23 last day of school Hardee: May 23 last day of school Hendry: Closed May 26 for Memorial Day. May 29 last day of school Hernando: Closed May 26 for Memorial Day. May 30 last day of school Highlands: May 23 last day of school Hillsborough: Closed May 26 for Memorial Day. May 30 last day of school Holmes: Closed May 26 for Memorial Day. May 28 last day of school Indian River: Closed May 26 for Memorial Day. May 30 last day of school Jackson: May 23 last day of school Jefferson: May 23 last day of school Lafayette: May 23 last day of school Lake: Closed May 26 for Memorial Day. May 29 last day of school Lee: Closed May 26 for Memorial Day. June 3 last day of school Leon: May 23 last day of school Levy: Closed May 26 for Memorial Day. May 30 last day of school Liberty: Closed May 26 for Memorial Day. May 30 last day of school Madison: May 22 last day of school Manatee: Closed May 26 for Memorial Day. May 30 last day of school Martin: Closed May 26 for Memorial Day. May 29 last day of school Miami-Dade: Closed May 26 for Memorial Day. June 5 last day of school Monroe: Closed May 26 for Memorial Day. May 30 last day of school Nassau: Closed May 26 for Memorial Day. May 30 last day of school Okaloosa: Closed May 26 for Memorial Day. May 29 last day of school Okeechobee: Closed May 26 for Memorial Day. May 29 last day of school Orange: Closed May 26 for Memorial Day. May 28 last day of school Osceola: Closed May 26 for Memorial Day. May 30 last day of school Palm Beach: Closed May 26 for Memorial Day. May 30 last day of school Pasco: Closed May 26 for Memorial Day. May 30 last day of school Pinellas: Closed May 26 for Memorial Day. May 29 last day of school Polk: Closed May 26 for Memorial Day. May 29 last day of school Putnam: Closed May 26 for Memorial Day. May 30 last day of school Santa Rosa: Closed May 26 for Memorial Day. May 29 last day of school Sarasota: Closed May 26 for Memorial Day. May 29 last day of school Seminole: Closed May 26 for Memorial Day. May 28 last day of school St. Johns: Closed May 26 for Memorial Day. May 30 last day of school St. Lucie: Closed May 26 for Memorial Day. June 2 last day of school Sumter: Closed May 26 for Memorial Day. June 3 last day of school Suwannee: May 23 last day of school Taylor: May 29 last day of school Union: May 23 last day of school Volusia: Closed May 26 for Memorial Day. May 28 last day of school Wakulla: May 23 last day of school Walton: Closed May 26 for Memorial Day. May 30 last day of school Washington: May 23 last day of school In 2023, a law was passed in Florida that said high schools could not start earlier than 8:30 a.m. and middle schools could not start earlier than 8 a.m. The law is supposed to take effect in the 2026-2027 school year. That new law is now coming under fire and may not happen. "Overwhelming" feedback from school districts revealed that implementing the change could cost the districts big to buy new buses and hire more, already-hard-to-find bus drivers. Senate Bill 296, which will go before Gov. Ron DeSantis for his signature, provides an exemption from the required change to later school start times if the local school board or district submits a report to the state by June 1, 2026 with the following information: Current school start times of schools in the district Documentation of strategies considered to implement later start times for middle and high schools Description of the impacts of implementing later start times. What the "unintended consequences" of implementing the later start times would be. SB 296 passed unanimously in both the House and the Senate. in 2025, there are 12 instead of the usual 11 federal holidays, although two — Inauguration Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day — fell on the same day. Here are 2025 federal holidays: Jan. 1: New Year's Day Jan. 20: Inauguration Day; Martin Luther King Jr. Day Feb. 17: Washington's Birthday. Many state and local governments designation it as Presidents Day. May 26: Memorial Day June 19: Juneteenth July 4: Independence Day Sept. 1: Labor Day Oct. 13: Columbus Day Nov. 11: Veterans Day Nov. 27: Thanksgiving Day Dec. 25: Christmas Day The Florida Department of Management Services lists the following days observed as paid holidays by state agencies: ➤ See list of 2025 Florida, federal holidays, including new one for Sunshine State Jan. 1, Wednesday: New Year's Day Jan. 20, Monday: Martin Luther King Jr. Day May 26, Monday: Memorial Day July 4, Friday: Independence Day Sept. 1, Monday: Labor Day Nov. 11, Tuesday: Veterans Day Nov. 27, Thursday: Thanksgiving Nov. 28: Friday after Thanksgiving Dec. 25, Thursday: Christmas Day This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: When is the last day of school in Florida? See list by county
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Biden's prostate cancer diagnosis highlights need for screenings, survivors and experts say
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Former President Joe Biden's recent prostate cancer diagnosis has sparked concern among Americans, but experts say it's also an important opportunity to raise awareness about one of the most common cancers affecting men. Biden, 82, is reportedly in good spirits following the announcement, though his office confirmed that the cancer has spread to his bones. Doctors say that while late-stage diagnoses are more difficult to treat, early detection dramatically improves survival rates. Former President Biden diagnosed with aggressive form of prostate cancer 'It was a complete shock,' retired U.S. Army Colonel Jim Williams, a prostate cancer survivor said. 'A young doctor arbitrarily included a PSA in my bloodwork—and that's how we caught it.' The PSA, or prostate-specific antigen test, is one of the most common ways prostate cancer is detected. According to CARTI, an Arkansas-based cancer treatment center, nearly one in eight American men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. Williams, now more than 30 years cancer-free, credits not just the PSA test, but also a digital rectal exam with helping detect his cancer early. Biden diagnosed with prostate cancer: What is it? 'Prostate cancer typically is one of these cancers that is asymptomatic for quite a while, until it becomes more advanced,' Dr. Matthew Hardee said. 'That's why screenings are so important.' Hardee explained that men without a family history should begin routine screenings between the ages of 55 and 70, a relatively narrow window. Biden, at 82, is past that range. Still, Hardee emphasized that treatment options for prostate cancer have expanded in recent years—even for cases that have metastasized. 'There are many more options now than ever before,' he said. 'Even in situations like President Biden's, where the cancer has spread, there's still hope and a lot of ways to manage the disease.' Biden's sudden diagnosis of aggressive prostate cancer is unfortunately all too common Prostate cancers are assigned a Gleason score from 1 to 10, indicating how abnormal the cancer cells appear under a microscope. Biden's office confirmed his score was 9, signaling an aggressive form of the disease. Doctors and survivors alike are urging men not to wait for symptoms, which may not appear until the cancer is advanced. With regular screening and early intervention, many cases can be treated successfully. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Campaign ME
13-05-2025
- Business
- Campaign ME
Horizon FCB packages Hardee's new steak sandwich for Gen Z
Hardee's Kuwait has launched its new Frisco Philly Steak Sandwich with a campaign that intends to resonate strongly with Gen Z audiences in the country. The campaign was brought to life by Horizon FCB in partnership with Sora Films Production and Cloudy Production. Tasked with creating buzz around the launch, Horizon FCB Kuwait developed the Frisco Philly Steak Sandwich film, blending humour, attitude and music to reflect the brand's fearless personality. The bold campaign was carried across out-of-home (OOH) advertising, digital-out-of-home (DOOH) billboards, at the point of sale (POS), and across below-the-line (BTL) materials provided regionally. The campaign's hero film was launched across digital and social media platforms, as these channels were found to receive the most Gen Z engagement. The campaign is running through the month of May 2025. Hardee's tasked each market with creating its own localised content to better connect with the target audience. In Kuwait, Horizon FCB Kuwait developed a dedicated local film to bring the Frisco Philly Steak Sandwich to life. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Hardee's Kuwait (@hardeeskuwait) Featuring shredded Philly steak and beef patty layered with melted cheese, grilled onions, and a punch of flavour all tucked inside Hardee's iconic square-shaped bun, the campaign delivered a fresh, high-energy piece that captures Hardee's unapologetic tone while resonating with a younger generations. The campaign film has already gained more than 1 million views on Hardee's Kuwaiti digital platforms. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Hardee's Kuwait (@hardeeskuwait) CREDITS: Client: Hardee's Kuwait Agency: Horizon FCB Kuwait Horizon FCB Kuwait Managing Director: Elie Farah Horizon FCB Kuwait Creative Director: Ahmed Zedan Horizon FCB Kuwait Senior Account Director: Sara Zakhari Horizon FCB Kuwait Senior Account Executives: Asma Salem, Ahmad Ibrahim Horizon FCB Kuwait Social Media Account Executive: Reem Al Zaghir Production House: Sora Films Production and Cloudy Production Producer: Ahmed Shoaib Film Director: Mohamed Maged
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
It's Clear Why Hardee's Has Been Struggling
Most brands come and go, so when one sticks around for more than half a century, you know that it's been doing something right. Until recently, this seemed to be the case with Hardee's. Since opening in Greenville, North Carolina in 1960, Hardee's went on to go from strength to strength, swelling to an enormous size with thousands of restaurants dotted around the country (and, indeed, the world). Signature offerings like Hardee's biscuits and its Thickburgers kept business thriving and brand loyalty strong. Well, until recently, that is. In the last few years, Hardee's has seen a significant downturn in its fortunes, with closing restaurants and struggling franchises. So why has Hardee's been doing so badly lately? Well, it seems to be a perfect storm of poor choices, bad market conditions, and a deteriorating public image. Moves like removing its Thickburgers from the menu or putting out ad campaigns that feel totally outdated have contributed to its downfall, and it's also been impacted by its ability to expand into certain territories and its decision to embrace new technologies. It appears that Hardee's is quickly becoming a relic, and we think we're pretty clear on exactly where it's been getting it wrong. Read more: The Quality Of Meat At 8 Sandwich Chains, Ranked Worst To Best If you want the measure of how any restaurant is doing, check out what's happening with its franchisees. When a restaurant brand is healthy and thriving, its franchisees will be doing the same: People are excited about going to the fast food chain for their food, ergo its profits are higher, and the franchisee can invest more in its services. However, when a restaurant brand is on the downturn, its franchisees are the first to take the hit. This happened in 2023 in a big way to Summit Restaurant Holdings, a franchisee that at its peak operated 145 Hardee's restaurants. In May of that year, Summit Restaurant Holdings had to declare bankruptcy, and in doing so closed 39 of its units. In court documents it was revealed that the company had been struggling with underperforming restaurants for a while, with a combination of lower footfall during the COVID-19 pandemic and higher costs for its products and labor contributing to a massive cash loss. Hardee's parent company CKE Restaurant Holdings was quick to issue a positive-sounding statement declaring that it was focused on offering its customers the best experience and food possible, and professing hope that the restaurants would find a buyer soon. However, you have to ask the question: Does this all stem from people losing their taste for Hardee's food in the first place? It's not uncommon for fast food locations to pop up pretty quickly, but it's never a great sign when they close at the same rate. Unfortunately for Hardee's, in the last few years that's what's been happening. 2024 saw a spate of closures of Hardee's restaurants, following a large-scale shutting of stores in 2023 when franchisee Summit Restaurant Holdings went bust. Locations in Illinois, Tennessee, and Missouri were all closed, with Illinois being hit particularly hard: The Midwestern state lost eight restaurants in total. If you thought 2025 was going to be a better year for the franchise, you're mistaken. We're just a couple months into the year, and one Hardee's location in Delaware has already announced that it's closing. The Delaware franchise, based in Bear, may have been impacted by the rise of other fast food joints in the area. This makes Delaware one of the only states without a Hardee's location. These may sound like a drop in the ocean, but when you look at the bigger picture things appear a bit more stark. Hardee's has closed several hundred of its locations over the last five years, and it seems that the chain has been hit particularly hard by the COVID pandemic and its after-effects, as well as changing consumer tastes. If you needed any proof that Hardee's was a franchise that's stuck in the past, look no further than the ad campaigns that it used to put out. The advertising history of Hardee's has, for the last few decades, been defined by its tendency to try and sell its burgers using pretty racy means. Models and famous female celebrities in various states of undress have featured in its commercials, with Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian, and Heidi Klum all taking part in Hardee's ads. The motivation behind all of this was clear: This kind of stuff sells. How does it affect a brand long-term, though? Unfortunately, pretty poorly. Hardee's only started to shift its advertising strategy towards the end of the 2010s, but by that point criticism of its commercials was already well underway, with people accusing the company of propagating sexist and outdated imagery. This all coincided with the rise of the #MeToo movement, with Hardee's struggling to justify its advertising choices amidst very real and important conversations around sexism and objectification. Although Hardee's has since tried to distance itself from its former ads, anyone with an internet browser can see what kind of company it used to be -- and it's one that's out of touch with the world today. Drive-thrus are hugely important to fast food franchises, and it's vital that they operate at their best. If they're not, people tend to take their business (and their cars) somewhere else pretty fast. Sadly, it seems like Hardee's has lost its handle on its drive-thrus, with declining performances and odd choices that have left customers frustrated. The annual InTouch Insight report into drive-thru satisfaction and service found that in 2024, Hardee's had slipped in its rankings. Just a couple years before, it was ranked as one of the quickest out of 10 major fast food restaurants by customers, and it also did pretty well with its service satisfaction and order accuracy. Cut to 2024, and it's slipped out of the top rankings for all of these. It seems like Hardee's solution to these issues is not to focus on its customer service and speed, but to replace its workers entirely with AI solutions. In late 2023, CKE Restaurant Holdings signed a deal with Presto Automations, to provide AI-operated drive-thru solutions to Carl's Jr., with Hardee's presumably to follow. However, folks who tried these new AI drive-thru machines found them to be clunky, weird, and soulless. It doesn't look like things are gonna improve any time soon at this flailing chain. There was a time when Hardee's was famed for its generosity, with its Thickburger being a testament to that. Hardee's Thickburgers came with supersized patties that were way bigger than the quarter-pounders you'd get in other fast food joints, with some of its sandwiches coming with burgers weighing in at two-thirds of a pound. Pretty satisfying, huh? Well, somewhere down the line, it seems like Hardee's decided it was time to retire its Thickburgers -- and its customers were deeply unhappy. Numerous customers have said how disappointed they were in Hardee's decision to remove Thickburgers from its menu, with some stating that they no longer go to its restaurants as a result. Although Hardee's still offers loads of other burgers, they just aren't the same. As well as this, Hardee's has been accused of cutting corners with its other products' sizes, potentially indicating that it's a victim of shrinkflation. Hardee's chicken tenders and drinks have been accused of being way too small for the price point they're placed at. Trust us, folks: This kind of thing doesn't get past loyal customers, and sooner or later, they stop going entirely. Anyone who's ever eaten anywhere or bought anything knows that the first thing you check is the reviews. Although people will always find something to complain about, good reviews across the board mean that you're in for a good experience -- but when a massive chain like Hardee's can barely get above a 2.5 rating at multiple locations, you know that things are going badly. Check out any online reviews for Hardee's branches around the country (or around the world), and you'll find a barrage of negative comments and one-star ratings, with people pointing out how poor its food, customer service, and cleanliness is. Whether Hardee's is serving breakfast, lunch, or dinner, people are getting riled up by its cold items, tiny portion sizes, and overpriced grub. We don't blame them. Now, it's easy to isolate a few bad reviews from locations across the country and make the argument that Hardee's is suffering. However, we're not doing that: We're looking at the big picture. On Yelp, Hardee's has a 2.3 out of 5 rating, with that score based on reviews from approximately 1,400 locations. The overwhelming majority of those reviews are one-star. If you're Googling where you should eat and this is what you're met with, then wouldn't you go somewhere else to eat? To be a successful restaurant franchise, you need to be able to expand -- and not just in the United States. International territories are big business for many U.S.-based fast food franchises, and Canada's a key market for them. Unfortunately, when it comes to Hardee's, that's just not on the cards. The fact of the matter is you'll never find a Hardee's in Canada, because of a name clash that hinders the restaurant from operating in the United States' neighboring country. It all comes down to the fact that there's another burger chain called Harvey's, which has been operating in Canada since before Hardee's even existed. The closeness of the two names, and the fact that they sell similar food, has meant that unless Hardee's rebranded itself it'd never stand out. This is all despite the fact that Hardee's was previously operated by Imasco Limited, a Canadian corporation which operated out of Montreal. Instead of trying to fit a square peg in a round hole, CKE Restaurant Holdings has pressed ahead with its other brand, Carls Jr., in the country. However, Hardee's has been left without a major chunk of business. This isn't the only spat that Hardee's has had, either: It once had a feud with Jack In The Box. So we don't know if you know this, but plant-based food is here to stay. Plant-based meat alternatives have been all the rage in fast food for several years now, and the plant-based food market more generally is only set to get bigger as time goes on -- meaning that there'll be more customers hankering after vegan burgers in restaurants like Hardee's. The chain seemed to cotton onto this in late 2020, when it introduced an expanded partnership with Beyond Meat, introducing its Beyond Burger in its units around the country. This partnership was naturally welcome news to people who follow a plant-based lifestyle, but it unfortunately didn't stand the test of time. Shortly after announcing this partnership and putting its Beyond Burger front and center, Hardee's removed it from its menu. Nowadays, it's nowhere to be found, and vegetarians and vegans have been left wanting for alternatives. This may have been because Hardee's found it difficult to sell these burgers (people on Reddit reported their local stores giving away full boxes of Beyond patties), but removing it from the menu seriously limited people's choice and options, and we wouldn't be surprised if its sales were dented by plant-based eaters going elsewhere. One of the biggest reasons that Hardee's is struggling is one that's affecting almost every restaurant out there: Things are just way more expensive than they used to be, guys. The price of food and labor has gone through the roof in the last few years, with the latter being an especially big spend for Hardee's. "What continues to be ahead of historical averages is the increase in labor costs that restaurants are seeing," says Jim Salera, Stephens analyst, via CNBC. The more that costs go up, the more that Hardee's has to increase its prices to balance the checkbook. However, when a restaurant's already in trouble, it either makes its items totally unaffordable or starts to close units as a result. When you consider how many Hardee's restaurants have shut in the last couple years, and the fact that Hardee's franchising are citing spiraling costs as reasons for their bankruptcy, it's clear that the state of the economy has the brand clinging onto survival by its fingertips. Hungry for more? Sign up for the free Daily Meal newsletter for delicious recipes, cooking tips, kitchen hacks, and more, delivered straight to your inbox. Read the original article on The Daily Meal. Sign in to access your portfolio
