The oldest memory I have of Hardee’s is this 3D kids meal box. It’s from 1983 and I remember vividly picking it up from Hardee’s in old Salmiya, the location that was opposite Fay and Barakat (the shawarma place). The memory I have is being in the car parked outside Fay, and I remember as soon asI got in the car, the first thing I did was look through the red and blue windows to see if I could see anything inside. I also remember I had ordered a roast beef as my kids meal burger.
Back in 2015, I found the advert above in an old bookshop in the city which helped me re-spark that memory and I knew I needed to get the box again. Fast forward to last week, I finally found a box that was reasonably priced, was of Spiderman, and most importantly, included the comic. And now I have it thanks to eBay.
Update: I have an old photo of the building that used to house the Swan Lake music shop, Barakat and Fay. The photo was taken from my PDA, a Sony Clie UX40 back in the early 2000s and was posted on MoBlog back in 2004 (usurp.textamerica.com). Text America died and I never backed it up but I have the image as a thumbnail which I enlarged. Posting it here just for Google incase anyone in the future is ever looking for it. Hardees is the red lit up sign on the bottom left. Previous location of the first Wimpy location in Kuwait.
Random fact I recently discovered, the manager of the Swan Lake music shop in the 80s was the owner of the Bells music shop in the 90s.
10 replies on “My first memory of Hardee’s, 1983”
I (heart) Hardee’s
Early 80’s were the best times for Hardees children’s toys because they were actually importing the franchise’s official toys. This stopped by the late 80’s and they devolved into giving out bootleg VHS cartoons as a gift (they were still great though, shoutout to The Land Before Time and The Thundercats). This devolved further, and now they don’t even give a toy with the children’s meal (a reason why my kids always make us go to McDonald’s if we want burgers).
yup, their WWF toys are a classic, no idea how they made money giving those away https://prowrestlingstories.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/vintage-1980s-wwf-ljn-bendies-complete-19-base-set.jpeg
Actually just remembered, the WWF Toys were KFC, Hardee’s had fucking Thunder Cats! https://248am.com/images/2021/07/hardees-1988-thunder-cats.jpg
I still have them all, in a white lunchbox which was also a gift from Hardees.
Hey where can I browse old newspapers. Are they available online?
National Library
Shoutout to the old great memories!! I remember all of that and I used to love going there to get me some VHS 🙂 Good old days!!
I disagree, from my childhood days they had some good toys, and they still brought those official toys every now and then. In 2005 I remember when they gave out WB cartoons on VCD. What really grinds my gears is how there were advertising flyers for their kids meal toy collections for each month included in local newspapers, but hardly any of it is archived online! Seriously, Hardee’s in this region had toys that weren’t available in the US and that’s what makes them so rare and unique.
Back in 90s I remember Burger King use to face paint ninja turtle characters and how they use host events. Also, collect coca cola bottle lids to win a cycle.