The company that would become a fast-food burger empire ironically got its start 75 years ago selling hot dogs.

On July 17, 1941, Carl Karcher sold 10-cent hot dogs, tamales and chili dogs at the corner of Florence and Central in Los Angeles. He financed a $326 food cart by mortgaging his Plymouth Super Deluxe for $311; he paid the rest in cash.

Karcher, a poor Ohio farm boy with an eighth-grade education, would eventually parlay the risky investment into a billion dollar corporation known today as Carl’s Jr. During his lifetime, Karcher would remind his children and hundreds of his employees that America is truly a land of opportunity.

He lived it, after all.

On opening day, Karcher’s cart took in $14.75. In 2015, more than 1,100 Carl’s Jr. restaurants in the U.S. generated annual sales of $1.4 billion.

“It’s the American success story. A man from very humble beginnings, through faith and hard work, accomplished something pretty incredible,” said his grandson Brett Wiles, who operates Carl’s Jr. restaurants in South Orange County.

Brad Haley, chief marketing officer at Carl’s Jr. parent company CKE Restaurants, said plaques adorn each restaurant telling Karcher’s story and quote his faith in American free enterprise.

“He was very poor when he came here, and created this huge multinational company,” Haley said. “His belief in the American dream is a huge part of who he was, and the heart of this company.”

Though the Carpinteria-based company is hitting a major milestone today, don’t expect any consumer-related menu promotions. CKE, which for years was headquartered in Anaheim, is keeping the commemoration simple with a plaque dedication at the Los Angeles street corner where Karcher got his start.

CKE, which owns the Hardee’s fast-food chain, also is sending a restored 1941 Plymouth Super Deluxe and a 1975 Corvette on tour – each one making a pit stop throughout the summer at Carl’s Jr. restaurants in Southern California.

At a private gala event held Thursday in Los Angeles, about 40 Karcher family members gathered with company executives to celebrate the legacy of Karcher, who died in 2008.

Karcher, who lived in Anaheim, ranks alongside Ray Kroc as pioneers in the fast-food industry.

Taco Bell, McDonald’s, Del Taco and In-N-Out Burger are local fast food institutions. But Carl’s Jr. often is credited for launching many innovative ideas in the $170 billion industry.

After growing his hot dog cart from one to four, the Karchers relocated to Anaheim because his wife had family there. In 1945, the couple opened Carl’s Drive-In Barbeque, a full-service restaurant with burgers and Karcher’s now-famous star logo.

A decade later, Karcher had the foresight to open a “junior” version of his drive-in – but one that offered speedier service.

The first two Carl’s Jr. restaurants opened in 1956 in Anaheim and Brea.

As a child, Wiles watched his grandfather and father (married to Karcher’s oldest daughter) build Carl’s Jr. into a thriving fast-food empire. It’s biggest market remains Southern California, where it has 441 restaurants.

“Southern California was booming and they were there taking advantage of the opportunities that presented,” said Wiles, whose family operates 24 Carl’s Jr. restaurants in California and New Mexico.

He also watched his grandfather innovate.

Burgers were charbroiled over an open flame – not flat grilled like rivals. Customers paid at the counter but meals were delivered “restaurant style” to their table. Salt and pepper shakers were on the table. The dining room was carpeted.

“Carl had this idea that going to his restaurants, even though they were fast food, it should be like going to the dining room of someone’s home,” Haley said.

Over the next 60 years, the fast-food “firsts” continued – salad bars, self-serve soda fountains, racy and viral commercials before the heyday of social media, and first-of-its-kind products like turkey burgers, Western Bacon Cheeseburgers and Six Dollar Burgers, now called Thickburgers. The half-pound Angus beef “better burgers” represented the chain’s foray into elevating fast-food – long before the invasion of fast-casual chains like Five Guys and Smashburger.

“Carl’s was the first to take fast food from a commodity-based experience to a true premium food experience with the original Six Dollar Burger,” Haley said.

In a phone interview, Haley talked about other Carl’s Jr. legacies, including the chain’s provocative commercials, top-selling burgers and its future in a hyper-competitive industry.

Q. Why did Karcher charbroil burgers?

A. A lot of early pioneers used flat grills. It came from Carl’s first restaurant. Opened 1945, the full-service restaurant (Carl’s Drive-in Barbecue in Anaheim) was flame-cooking burgers. He was delivering burgers people loved because they were cooked over flame. He wanted to deliver that same flavor and taste (at Carl’s Jr.).

Q. How do you charbroil?

A. We (use gas-powered) chain broilers. It looks like a mesh chain. Patties are put on one end and cook over an open flame.

Q. Karcher truly believed in the American dream. Are his philosophies still part of the Carl’s Jr. culture?

A. There’s still people who worked for Carl, and they tell employees to treat guests like you would treat a guest in your own home. The table service was like what you’d get in a sit-down restaurant. (Those Karcher) principles are alive and well in our company today.

Q. How did the Hardee’s merger change the business?

A. It’s been a marriage of best practices. Carl’s, given its start, was more of the burger expert in the equation. Hardee’s, in the south, brought the breakfast expertise to the marriage. Carl’s Jr. benefited from rolling out Hardee’s made-from-scratch biscuits in every restaurant.

And Hardee’s benefited from Carl’s cooking methods. (Hardee’s switched to charbroil.)

Q. We talked earlier about legacy operational and menu strategies. But, Carl’s Jr. is also known for its edgy supermodel commercials. What’s the all-time most popular?

A. Not every ad we do is a supermodel ad, but those are the ones that people remember.

The one that kicked it off was the (2005) Paris Hilton ad. She was promoting a Six Dollar Burger. (The bikini-clad Hilton chomped on a burger while lathering up a Bentley).

Back then, YouTube was barely a thing. Social media wasn’t a thing. Brands would create micro websites to showcase the ad. Our website crashed. People remember that (Hilton commercial) like it ran in the last few years. The one (today) that is the absolute winner in terms of views on our YouTube channel is the Super Bowl ad we did two years ago starring Charlotte McKinney for the launch of the all natural burger.

Q. Who is your target audience?

A. Our target is young hungry guys. They are the male half of the millennial generation. We do design everything with them in mind. You’re not going to see us do many salads. We do big, decadent burgers, and we’ll do ads that have an edge to them. Sometimes they have sexy attractive women; sometimes they’ll have quirky humor; sometimes they’ll have an athlete that appeals to those guys.

Q. You need to do “Pokemon Go” ad.

A. We are looking into it.

Q. Which burgers are the most popular?

A. The Western Bacon Cheeseburger – that’s probably Carl’s most iconic burger – that’s still one of our best-sellers, and after that, the Famous Star (Carl Karcher’s favorite) and the Super Star.

Q. The fast-food industry has vastly changed. How do you ensure your legacy for another 75 years?

A. In the early days, the post-war, baby boom generation, the car culture was becoming a thing. If you built a (drive-through) restaurant, you’d be successful. There was huge untapped demand.

Obviously today, all these years later, there’s a lot of competition. There’s fast-casual and better burgers (chains) popping up. The fast-food industry still has things going for it that will keep it viable for (another) 75 years. It’s got convenience, the drive-through and speed.

People aren’t getting more free time, or more leisure time, so speed is more important than it ever has been.

And value. The basic benefits (an inexpensive, convenient, fast meal) that this industry provided from the beginning are still important today.

Contact the writer: nluna@ocregister.com