California-grown fast-food chain under fire as fans say quality vanished while prices shot up 

Burger lovers have major beef with a popular California fast food joint — once almost as worshipped as In-N-Out in some corners of the Golden State.

But after years of slipping quality and price hikes, fed up fans are coming for Carl’s Jr. with their burger flippers — loudly decrying the decline of the Los Angeles-born favorite.

“When did Carl’s Jr. get so expensive??” one social media poster recently asked — sparking a supersized gripe-fest over a photo of their basic, 5-piece chicken tender combo. The single meal came out to a whopping $19.17.

“Remember when their spicy chicken sandwich was like $1.29-$1.49 around 2019? It’s now $5.49-$6.00 by itself. For one sandwich,” one commenter wrote in response.

“Fast food goes up with the cost of minimum wage over here in Cali,” said another. “In Los Angeles County, the minimum wage keeps going up and so does the basic [combo].”

Beginning in 1941 as a hot dog cart at the corner of Florence and Central Aves. in South Central by Carl N. Karcher and his wife, Margaret Heinz, later becoming an actual restaurant in Anaheim, Carl’s Jr. now has over 3,000 locations worldwide — with over 1,000 outposts in the U.S. and 2,000 abroad.

Menu items like the Western Bacon Cheeseburger, cinnamon rolls and hand-scooped ice cream shakes were once major draws.

But the chain has hit major trouble in California in recent months, closing nearly 50 locations amid the state’s rising minimum wage.

A recent TikTok slammed the burger chain, calling it “overpriced slop.”

The video showed the prices of three popular menu items — a double western bacon cheeseburger combo for $16.74 and a triple western bacon cheeseburger combo for $18.49.

“Are you out of your freaking minds? I went there the other day and I thought it was a glitch in the matrix,” the poster said about the high prices.

“At least deliver a good product, because that was one of the worst-tasting burgers that I’ve ever experienced.”

“I’ve watched their coupons and deals get worse and worse over the last couple of years. Seems like Jack in the Box and In-N-Out are the last bastions of relatively cheap fast food. Been avoiding Carl’s like the plague since the start of 2025,” one fan commented.

It’s no secret that Carl’s Jr. costs a pretty penny. Earlier this year, the chain made TastingTable‘s list of the most expensive burger chains in the U.S.

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