CKE Inc., parent company to the Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s quick-service restaurant chains, registered late Thursday for a $100 million initial public offering of stock.

In filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Carpinteria, Calif.-based company said it intends to list its stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “CK.” Net proceeds would be applied toward debt and for general corporate purposes, the company said.

Both the size of the offering and the estimated offering price have not been determined.

The two restaurant chains are owned by Columbia Lake Acquisition Holdings Inc., an affiliate of private-equity firm Apollo Management, which acquired the brands’ then parent company, CKE Restaurants Inc. for about $1 billion, including debt, in 2010. Prior to that deal, CKE Restaurants had been a public company for 29 years.

Apollo kept the company’s management team, with current chief executive Andrew Puzder.

CKE is not the only restaurant company looking at an IPO this year. Other chains that have filed for IPOs include the parent companies of Outback Steakhouse, Joe’s Crab Shack and Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse. Burger King is also looking to return to the New York Stock Exchange.

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For its fiscal year ended Jan. 30, CKE reported a net loss of $6.3 million, compared with a loss of $35.4 million the prior year. Corporate revenue totaled $1.3 billion, a decrease of 3.8 percent compared with fiscal 2011.

At the end of the fourth quarter, CKE operated or franchised 3,243 restaurants, including 1,313 Carl’s Jr. units and 1,921 Hardee’s restaurants in 42 states and 25 foreign countries. The company also holds nine locations of secondary brand Green Burrito.

Mother’s Day is traditionally one of the highest-volume days of the year for restaurants specializing in upscale brunch, but foodservice brands across all segments see the holiday as a sizeable opportunity to boost traffic and are deploying promotions beyond brunch to attract mothers and families.

New research from online-reservation specialist OpenTable Inc. suggests that while brunch is still the most popular meal on Mother’s Day, marketing opportunities for restaurants exist beyond the mid-morning meal. Although 58 percent of people surveyed said brunch was part of their plans, 39 percent said the family planned to take Mom out to a special dinner — and roughly one-quarter of them said they may eat out more than once on Mother’s Day.

The survey results indicated another good sign for restaurants of all types: Twenty percent of respondents said they plan on spending more money this year for Mother’s Day. Three quarters of them said they plan to spend about the same amount as last year.

Among the restaurants taking advantage of Mother’s Day marketing opportunities beyond brunch is First Watch, a Bradenton, Fla.-based chain of 90 breakfast-and-lunch restaurants. For the sixth consecutive year, the chain will offer mothers a complimentary box of Russell Stover chocolates for dining in on Mother’s Day. Similarly, Nashville, Tenn.-based Shoney’s is giving away its Hot Fudge Cake to all mothers with the purchase of an entrée at its more than 200 restaurants in 17 states.

Fellow family-dining chain Denny’s is incorporating an interactive element for its offer of a free Skillet Cookie a la Mode. Guests can send their mother’s a free Mother’s Day e-card from the Denny’s website in exchange for a coupon for the dessert, redeemable on Mother’s Day. Spartanburg, S.C.-based Denny’s operates or franchises 1,685 restaurants.

Fazoli’s, the chain of more than 200 fast-casual Italian restaurants, also ran a digital promotion for Mother’s Day. The Lexington, Ky.-based brand was scheduled to name its “Mother of the Year” Friday, after several weeks of soliciting nominations on its Facebook page. The winner would receive free family meals at Fazoli’s for one year.

“Our moms take care of us 365 days a year, year after year,” chief marketing officer Cathy Hull said in a statement. “That’s why we wanted to continue the tradition of honoring Mom with a prize that will allow her to sit down and enjoy a quality meal with her family each month fo

Ross Resnick, founder of the food-truck-locating RoamingHunger.com website, offered a variety of tips to succeed in the growing foodservice segment in a panel entitled, “Roll Out the Right Way: Starting a Successful Food Truck Program”

“It’s an industry that is in its infancy,” said Resnick, whose website is one of the most thorough trackers of food truck growth. “It’s a brand-new business.”

Since 2009, the number of trucks listed on the Roaming Hunger website has grown 710 percent, to more than 2,300, Resnick said. And food truck growth is anticipated to grow another 260 percent by 2014, he said.

While pioneering food trucks like Kogi BBQ in Los Angeles succeeded easily a few years ago, the landscape has become much more congested. Food trucks are less unique, Resnick said.

“You can’t be successful on the basis of being a food truck alone,” he said.

The popularity of food trucks has moved beyond the most populous urban centers of Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco to smaller cities. Resnick said his top five cities for food truck growth are: Indianapolis, Ind.; Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.; Philadelphia; Raleigh, N.C.; and Tampa, Fla.

Success depends on many factors, he added, but among them are differentiated branding, a reasonably sized menu, a good selection of sales locations, a strong social media presence and patience when it comes to growth.

“These brands are being built very slowly,” Resnick said. Many have found success in teaming with other operators to provide informal food-truck malls and also by joining the growing number of local food truck associations, which can now be found in such cities as Chicago, New York and Philadelphia, and such regions as Southern California and the District of Columbia.

In addition, Resnick said, food trucks need to develop a catering program to expand the meal occasions and revenue-stream stability. With regular catering income, a truck can better survive the rough road of inclement weather and other business drawbacks. “Catering is what’s going to pay your bills,” he said.

Because they already face at least four regulatory hurdles, including health permits, business licensing, parking restrictions and zoning laws, food trucks with alcohol beverage sales have been few and far between.

“If you could figure out the drive-thru daiquiri truck, I think you could do pretty well,” Resnick said with a laugh.