‘Permanently closed’: Carl’s Jr Armstrong Creek shuts its doors

One of the last outposts of an American burger chain that went bust earlier in the year has closed its doors.

Carl's Junior Armstrong Creek. Picture: Alison Wynd

The Armstrong Creek branch of an American burger chain that went into voluntary administration in July has shut its doors.

A sign on the front door of the Carl’s Jr restaurant on the Surf Coast Highway said the burger business had shut.

“Unfortunately, due to circumstances outside our control we have had to close our doors,” the sign read.

On Wednesday afternoon, the restaurant’s Facebook page read “permanently closed”.

The page had posted earlier that morning encouraging customers to buy breakfast.

Carl's Jr Armstrong Creek closure

In July, franchisee Mark Creelman said the store would continue to operate despite Carl’s Jr being placed into voluntary administration.

The store ran on reduced hours in August due to the closure of the Surf Coast Highway during level crossing removals.

In February, Mr Creelman said closures along the road could slash customers by “upwards of 40 and 50 per cent”.

“It’s dreadful, the timing is just dreadful,” he said.

“I’m a small-business owner, I own one restaurant and I’ve got a small number of staff that rely on me for their income.

Franchisee of Carl's Jr Armstrong Creek Mark Creelman. Picture: Brad Fleet

“We (local businesses) are so insignificant, the care factor is zero.”

KPMG announced in July David Hardy, George Georges and Emily Seeckts had been appointed administrators to Carl’s Jr stores across Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.

A total of 49 stores throughout the three states were affected as a result.

Some stores are still open in other parts of the country.

Carl’s Jr, which operates in more than 30 countries, had plans for as many as 300 stores when it opened its first outlet in Australia in 2016.

Originally published as ‘Permanently closed’: Carl’s Jr Armstrong Creek shuts its doors