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A&W Restaurants, Inc.

Type Wholly owned subsidiary
Industry Fast food
Founded Lodi, California, United States (1919)
Founder(s) Roy W. AllenFrank Wright
Headquarters Lexington, Kentucky, United States
Number of locations 1,200
Area served 16 countries and territories
Products Hot dogs, root beer, cheese curds, hamburgers, chicken
Parent A Great American Brand LLC
Website www.awrestaurants.com
References:
An American A&W restaurant in Page, Arizona
A&W Restaurants, Inc., is a chain of fast-food restaurants distinguished by its draft root beer and root beer floats. A&W was arguably the first successful food franchise company, starting franchises in California, in 1923. The company name was taken from the surname initials of partners Roy W. Allen and Frank Wright. The company became famous in the United States for its "frosty mugs," where the mug would be kept in the freezer prior to being filled with root beer and served to the customer.

Today, it has franchise locations throughout much of the world, serving a typical fast food menu of hamburgers and french fries, as well as hot dogs. A number of its outlets are drive-in restaurants with carhops. Previously owned by Yum! Brands, the chain was sold to a consortium of A&W franchisees, through A Great American Brand LLC, in December 2011. The root beer served in each restaurant location is prepared onsite, using real cane sugar and a proprietary blend of herbs, bark, spices, and berries.

A&W restaurants in Canada have been part of a separate and unaffiliated chain since 1972.

History
A&W began in June 1919, at 13 Pine Street in Lodi, California, when Roy Allen opened his first root beer stand. Two years later, Allen began franchising the drink, arguably the first successful food-franchising operation. His profits came from a small franchise fee and sales. The following year, Allen partnered with Frank Wright to help Wright with the root beer business he'd started that year. They branded their product A&W Root Beer.

In 1923, they opened their first drive-in restaurant, in Sacramento, California, creating the nation's first system of franchise roadside restaurants. The chain went international in 1950, when A&W opened in Winnipeg and Montreal, Canada. By 1960, A&W had 2,000 stores.

In 1963, the chain opened its first store on Okinawa. Also that year, the first bacon cheeseburger from a chain restaurant was served at one of the A&W locations. In the following years, the chain branched into other foreign markets, including the Philippines and Malaysia.

In 1971, a beverage division began, supplying bottled A&W products to grocery stores. The soft drinks sold under A&W are root beer and cream soda (both original and diet), made by Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Inc.

In the 1970s, A&W had more stores than McDonald's. Oshkosh, Wisconsin franchise manager Jim Brajdic said: "Problems back then, including a lawsuit, franchisee discontent and inconsistencies in the operation, caused the chain to flounder and branches to close."

In 1989, A&W made an agreement with Minnesota-based Carousel Snack Bars to convert that chain's 200 stores (mostly kiosks in shopping malls) to A&W Hot Dogs & More. Some A&W Hot Dogs & More are still operating. In late 2000s, A&W added franchises with a nostalgic look and modern technology. They have a carhop design with drive-thrus and some have picnic tables.

A&W opened its first outlet in Bangladesh on 15 December 2010. This 170-seat outlet is located at Gulshan 1, Dhaka is the largest A&W outlet in South Asia. The food served is 100% halal and is very popular with the local youth population, with root beer being the driving force of the large number of sales. A&W Bangladesh serves an "All you can eat offer" during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and "Boishakhi Bonanza" during the Bengali new year.

Before 2011, A&W (besides Canada), was a Yum! Brands, Inc. company. Most A&W stores that opened in the U.S. in recent years were co-branded with another of Yum!'s chains—Long John Silver's, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, or Kentucky Fried Chicken.

In January 2011, Yum! Brands announced its intention to sell A&W along with Long John Silver's. Citing poor sales for both divisions, Yum! planned to focus on international expansion for its remaining brands, with particular emphasis on growth in China. In September 2011, Yum! announced that they would sell the chain to A Great American Brand LLC, a consortium of various A&W franchisees, both in the United States and overseas. The sale was finalized on December 19, 2011.

As of 2011, the chain consisted of more that 1,200 restaurants, of which 350 international stores in ten countries and territories.