The International Falls Hardee’s has been awarded the Franchisee of the Year Award for the fifth year in a row.

CKE Restaurants, the national Hardee’s franchise holder, awarded Pete-Ham Food Services, Inc. last month. Dave and Cindy Peterson of International Falls are two of the owners who operate Pete-Ham, the company under which the local Hardee’s operates. Pete-Ham is also owned by Jason and Michelle Hamre of Hibbing.

Pete-Ham was awarded under the single-unit operator category. The award is given to one franchisee in the nation each year.

“Without our guests, we couldn’t receive this honor,” said Dave Peterson. “We’ve had great support from both our local folks and our Canadian friends.”

He also credited restaurant managers and staff. A contributing factor was striving to keep the restaurant clean, and serve customers quickly with a good product, Peterson said.

The criteria for the award are rankings created by CKE, and franchisees are scored in each category. The factors scored were operational assessments, average number of unacceptables on audits, average number of restaurant guest complaints, and sales growth.

Last year, when the local Hardee’s received the same honor, Becky Salacki, director of franchise service and administration for CKE told The Journal, “This Hardee’s has virtually no guest complaints.”

Falls Hardee’s long-time customer Karen Sumner said she was happy to hear of the award, but wasn’t surprised considering the service. Sumner said she has been eating breakfast at the restaurant every week day since Hardee’s opened in the Falls.

“I always have wonderful service, for one thing,” Sumner said. “Dave’s personality just makes your day. The fact that he remembers people, knows their name, knows what’s going on in their life, and asks about them, shows he truly cares about other people. And so many of (the employees) are like that.”

The Falls franchisee has won the nationwide award every year since 2007. Looking back, the owners and employees of the local restaurant are most grateful for the friendships they have created with their guests, Peterson said.

“We always attempt to make them feel like they want to be here,” Peterson said. “We love our guests and consider them family.”