Carl's Jr. Grand Opening, San Antonio, Texas

A new Carl's Jr. Restaurant opened in my section of San Antonio, Leon Valley area a few days ago. For those of you who may not know the Carl's Jr. Chain of franchises. It is a fast food type restaurant like Jack in the Box, McDonald's and Burger King with hundreds of units mainly west of the Rocky Mountains.

My daughter and I visited the restaurant 11/20/09 around 12: PM. When we got to the restaurant itself, there were so many cars and people walking around that a San Antonio Police Department officer was stationed in the parking lot to direct traffic. I decided to park on the side of the street a few feet from the parking lot to avoid the carnage.

It was over 30 years since I have seen such a crowd at a restaurant grand opening and a first for me to see a policeman directing traffic in a parking lot.

We were greeted at the door by a smiling employee welcoming us to Carl's Jr. and directing us to the end of the standing line of customers waiting to place their orders. While waiting we were each given a disposable menu to look at before ordering.

The atmosphere was festive and several employees dressed in uniform were introducing themselves and welcoming us to the business. The franchise owner and "I'm assuming" a corporate district manager was welcoming customers to Carl's Jr.

During our short wait in line, I noticed that about ten employees were working in the kitchen production line making everything on the menu from French fries to burgers. The front cash line was fully staffed with smiling women eager to take orders. The drive through person was as busy as she could be but maintaining a great attitude throughout my time there.

After taking our to go order (no seats) we received the food in about 20 seconds as I know the items we ordered was just taken from what was available, not made to order. This was understandable since the volume was so large.

When we got back to the car and checked the items, we ordered to make sure we received all of it we were surprised to find nothing missing especially in such a pandemonium state the business was in.

When we got home the food quality and flavor was as fabulous as we remembered when we ate at Carl's Jr. in California.

If the franchise owners of Carl's Jr. here in South Texas continue to maintain the atmosphere, cleanliness and customer service of their restaurants and continue the great quality of food as we experienced on that day Carl's Jr. will become one of the most popular restaurants in Texas.