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A&W Restaurants, Inc. (also known as Allen & Wright Restaurants) is an American fast food restaurant chain distinguished by its "Burger Family" combos, draft root beer and root beer floats. [5][6] The oldest extant restaurant chain in the United States [7] (the oldest being the Harvey House), [8] A&W's origins date back to 1919 when Roy W ...
- 1919 - It All Started with A Roadside Stand…
- 1922 – So That’S What A&W Stands For
- 1925 – Adding to The Family
- 1950 – Here We Grow Again
- 1956 - Going International
- 1963 - Bacon, Meet Burger
- 1999 – That’S A Lot of Root Beer Floats
- 2017 & Beyond – The Future Is Now
Roy W. Allen opened his first Root Beer stand in Lodi, California on June 20th. It was a hot night that coincided with a city-wide party celebrating the homecoming of local World War I heroes.
Allen partnered with former Lodi employee Frank Wright. They leased their first two Root Beer stands to other operators so they could expand into the larger city of Sacramento. This was around the same time the partners coined the new name A&W®, “A” for Allen & “W” for Wright.
Allen began to sell franchises to others, thus establishing the first franchise restaurant chain in America.
Thanks to the postwar boom & prevalence of G.I. loans, there was a flurry of new development & nearly 450 operating A&Ws. Allen sold the entire operation to the A&W Root Beer Co., a California company.
A&W went international opening its first restaurant in Canada in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1956. A&W restaurants in Canada were initially part of the American A&W restaurant chain until they were sold in 1972 and since then, have been owned and operated in Canada independently and separately from A&W operations in the United States.
A&W expanded to the Philippines, Malaysia, & Okinawa, Japan. Meanwhile, in the U.S., the Original Bacon Cheeseburger was born.
In conjunction with A&W’s 80th Anniversary, the world’s largest Root Beer Float was created. 2,562.5 gallons of Root Beer was used to break the world record.
There are approximately 1,000 restaurants (& counting) in the United States & Southeast Asia. An estimated 46 new restaurant openings are planned for 2018 between the U.S. & International markets.
Feb 9, 2024 · A&W is named for its founders Roy Allen and Frank Wright. In 1919, Roy Allen purchased a root beer recipe and set up a root beer stand in Lodi, California. He opened his stand for the first time during a parade in honor of WWI veterans returning home. Allen served cold root beer in glass mugs for 5 cents. After continued success with his stand ...
Established in 1919, A&W has been a pioneer in the fast-food industry. It all started when Roy W. Allen opened a roadside root beer stand in Lodi, CA. From there, Allen partnered with Frank Wright, and together they coined the name A&W, which has become synonymous with root beer ever since. A&W began franchising in 1926, paving the way for a ...
Jan 6, 2023 · Allen then partnered with a former employee, Frank Wright — hence the name "A&W." The two leased their first root beer stand so they could expand their business to larger cities, such as Sacramento. By 1925, Allen and Wright began selling their stands to others through franchising, creating the first chain restaurant franchise in America.
Jun 21, 2023 · Allen kept franchising stores by the hundreds, pioneering the drive-in concept with “tray boys” hopping to customers in cars. An American ( and Canadian!) institution was born! Some 15 summers ago, in the Adirondack Mountain town of Wilmington, New York, I happened upon a vintage A&W restaurant, a charming roadside relic if there ever was one, and my fascination with the brand deepened.
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6) A&W Root Beer is named for partners Roy Allen and Frank Wright. 7) A&W Root Beer (1919) is older than sliced bread (1928). 8) A&W was the first American quick-service restaurant to open in Malaysia (1963) and Singapore (1966). In 1963, it was the first American hamburger shop to open in Okinawa.
