MOVE over Ronald McDonald and Colonel Sanders. The busty babes of Carl’s Jr have hit town.

In a major shake-up of the fast-food industry in Australia, American burger giant Carl’s Jr is set to be swamped with customers when it opens its first store Down Under on Tuesday.

To mark the opening of the Bateau Bay store — which cost nearly $2 million to set up — on the Central Coast, the first 50 people through the doors at 10am will get a book of vouchers to eat free for a year.

media_camera Models Jessika and Emma with Brad Sommer, vice-president Operations and Development of Carl's Jr, at the VIP opening night. Picture: Matt Taylor

Franchise owner Lindsay Brennan said he was expecting a big line-up of people for the historic opening day.

“It’ll be huge,” Mr Brennan, of the BKG Group (owners of BYO Cellars bottleshops), said.

“It’s taken us seven months of hard work to get to this point of opening the store, and it’s all a bit surreal. I’m 53 now and hopefully when I’m 73 we’ll look back and say this was the start of something huge in Australia.”

media_camera The new Carl's Jr store at Bateau Bay will open on Tuesday. Picture: Sue Graham

media_camera Burger battle: The new Carl's Jr store at Bateau Bay is situated right next door to Maccas. Picture: Sue Graham

Carl’s Jr, known for its raunchy advertising featuring bikini-clad, busty models, will target the tradie market with its “premium” burgers. Mr Brennan says the Bateau Bay store will employ about 80 staff and use mainly Australian produce.

However, the burger giant’s arrival has drawn fire from Cancer Council NSW, which points to the latest health data showing 62 per cent of adults in the region are overweight or obese.

Carl’s Jr’s signature Original Six Dollar Burger weighs in with an imposing 830 calories and 52g of fat, easily gobbling up Maccas’ Big Mac (493 calories, 26.9g fat) and the Hungry Jack’s Whopper burger (689 calories, 40.1g fat).

Taking it up a notch is the Western Bacon Thickburger, which tips the scales with a heavy-duty 1090 calories and 69g of fat. For the average 35-year-old man, this burger alone would represent nearly half of the recommended daily calorie count.

media_camera One of the many Carl's Jr ads which shows scantily clad women with burgers.

media_camera Swimsuit model Kate Upton in a Carl's Jr ad.

“This fast-food chain has obviously done its research in deciding to set up on the Central Coast,” Cancer Council NSW nutrition program manager Clare Hughes said. “We are deeply concerned about this type of fast food and its excess kilojoule count.”

But Mr Brennan hit back: “Carl’s Jr is at the top end of the fast-food industry, and there will be plenty of healthy options on our menu.”

Brad Sommer, vice-president Operations and Development Asia for Carl’s Jr, added: “I don’t think we should be dictating to people what they should and shouldn’t be eating.

“It’s all about making choices. If you want to come into Carl’s Jr and have a half-pound hamburger, then you have that option. Or if you want a chicken salad with less calories, then you have that option too. If you want to have a burger that has no carbohydrates and is served with a lettuce wrap instead of a bun, we can do that too. And we have gluten-free products too.

“Let’s face it: if you want to abuse yourself, you can do that a lot of different ways.”

Asked why the Central Coast was chosen for Carl’s Jr’s first store in Australia, Mr Sommer said: “This region is a lot like our home base in California with beaches, palm trees and surfers.

“A lot of it boiled down to finding the right location and the right franchisee. And we wanted to start with a family company and area that are going to represent our brand very well.”

media_camera The first 50 people through the doors on the opening day at the Carl's Jr Bateau Bay store will receive a book of vouchers to eat free for a year. media_camera Models Emma and Jessika at the Carl's Jr VIP opening night at Bateau Bay on Thursday. Picture: Denice Barnes

Carl’s Jr, which has stores in 36 different countries, was founded in 1941 by Carl Karcher. On the heels of the successful opening of stores in New Zealand, its sexy slogans — including “things will get messy” and “eat like you mean it” — will form part of its advertising campaign.

Asked if the gloves were now off in the fight for business with McDonald’s, which is situated right next door at Bateau Bay Square, Mr Brennan said at a VIP opening night on Thursday: “No, we’re going into a separate part of the market.

“We don’t aim our marketing at the kids with value meals. Our burgers come at a premium price, but we are delivering a higher-quality product.”

And he cheekily added: “You’ll definitely see no clowns at our store.”

Mr Sommer revealed the next two Carl’s Jr stores to open in Australia will be at Brisbane Airport in June and Hobart Airport later this year.

‘THUMBS UP’ FOR BURGERS

TWO of SEA FM’s competition winners at the Carl’s Jr’s VIP opening night on Thursday gave the burgers the thumbs up.

Jaron Marsden, of Bateau Bay, said his favourite was the Jalapeno Thickburger.

media_camera Aaron Griffiths, of Toukley, was the first person in Australia to try a Carl's Jr burger last night. He gave the Original Thickburger the thumbs up, saying it was “delicious”. Picture: Denice Barnes

media_camera Fiona Browne and Jaron Marsden, of Bateau Bay, at the VIP opening night of Carl's Jr on the Central Coast. Picture: Matt Taylor

“It was absolutely beautiful,” Mr Marsden said. “It tasted like a real burger, something you’d get in a proper restaurant, not at a fast-food place.”

His partner, Fiona Browne, said her pick of the burgers was the Double Western Bacon Cheeseburger.

“It one was like a homemade one, something you’d fill up in your own kitchen,” Ms Browne said. “The sauces with all the burgers were very tasty.”

media_camera The Jalapeno Thickburger was roundly praised for its tastiness at the opening night.

For this reporter, the burgers were fresher and tastier than anything Maccas, KFC and Hungry Jack’s serve up. I’m with Jaron on the Jalapeno burger. It has a bit of kick to it, but it really hit the spot.

My colleague Denice Barnes and I thought the chips were better than Maccas’ because they had more potato, were crunchier and less greasy.

Carl’s Jr is certainly going to give Maccas a good run for their money. It will shake up the fast-food industry. And that’s not a bad thing.