So-Cal burger chain comes to Wasilla

WASILLA -- An Anchorage restaurant company is bringing a taste of Southern California to the Valley, but like many buildings in Alaska the new Carl's Junior restaurant is being tweaked a bit to fit the four season climate.

The parapet wall is one example. Customers won't be on the roof, so the low wall that encloses the roof doesn't really serve a safety function. It's just there for looks, so people don't have to see the mechanical fixtures on the roof when they walk or drive by. In the desert you might find a parapet wall that's a thin facade but the Alaskan version is stout.

"It's got to be structural because of the potential snow load and drifting," Carl's Junior owner Jerry Kinn said.

Kinn and his wife Debra own J & D Restaurants Inc. Last June, J & D and Carl's Junior parent company CKE Restaurants Inc. announced that the Kinns would build up to 10 Carl's Junior restaurants in state. The first of the sandwich shops opened in South Anchorage on Abbott Road, the second will be just off the intersection of the Palmer-Wasilla Highway and Parks Highway. Framers are working this week and the job site should be mostly enclosed within a few days. Kinn plans to open in mid-February.

The Kinn's also planned adaptations that cater to Alaskan's tastes such as the first ever Carl's Junior ice cream menu and some creature comforts that should make staff and customer's alike more comfortable such as heated floors and sidewalks.

"Traditionally, the warm air comes down from the top and it can be cold around your feet under the table," Kinn said.

Anchorage-based MCN Construction is Kinn's contractor. Like a lot of builders, MCN Superintendent Gary Keyes is enjoying the warm dry weather that the Valley has been having this winter. Not surprisingly, Keyes said he's been able to reduce some of the costs to his client.

"It's great. It's saved us a ton of money. We were able to get all of the concrete down and we would have done the paving too if somebody was still making asphalt out there," Keyes said. "This winter will probably save him five to ten thousand just on the heat alone."

Kinn said J & D Restaurants was able to move pretty quickly on the spot outside Fred Meyer in part because Fred Meyer's real estate managers pre-planned the subdivided lots around the parking lot. The result is that while J & D paid a premium price, issues such as platting, zoning, and traffic had already been ironed out. Kinn said that Fred Meyer did scrutinize his plan before agreeing to the sale.

"Fortunately, they've worked with Carl's Junior before. So when we made an offer on the property they knew what they were getting," Kinn said.

Another custom feature at the restaurant is an in-door dumpster. That caught the eye of Wasilla's Planning Director Tim Krug as J & D was filing for building permits. Krug -- who occasionally is called upon to ask businesses around Wasilla to keep a lid on their trash or be fined -- called the in-door dumpster "thoughtful and considerate."

The concept is pretty simple. Build a tiny room with a roll-up garage-style door that's designed in co-operation with your trash hauler. You want the lift forks to fit and you want every dumpster truck driver to have a remote control access. Add sprinklers and a fire door between the dumpster room and the kitchen and voil‡: one raven-proof, bear-proof, hobo proof, wind-proof dumpster.

Kinn said the in-door dumpster comes from his 34 years of experience working with McDonald's. He has been both a franchise owner and corporate employee of the fast food giant. As far as being thoughtful and considerate, Kinn said he was thinking mostly of his employees.

"One of the things that was always difficult with the management and employees was that out-door receptacle. The ravens, of course, hate us because they don't get their morning meal," Kinn said. "You're only giving up about 200 square feet of building space and it's much nicer for the crew. It adds security too, since they don't have to go in and out through the back door."

There is one thing about the Alaskan Carl's Junior chain and the original Southern California Carl's Junior that will be identical. It's an odd marketing quirk. A gimmick that one local hamburger devotŽ said "takes some getting used to." The price of the restaurant's famous Six-Dollar Burger is $3.95.