A&W Restaurants and Root beer Locations Locator Map and Directory

Background

A&W Restaurants and Root beer is a chain of fast-food restaurants, distinguished by their draft root beer and root beer floats. The aforementioned items are made on the premises from concentrate and served in tall, frosted-glass mugs. It is the oldest fast food franchise company in the United States, serving a typical fast food menu of hamburgers and french fries, as well as hot dogs. A number of them are drive-in restaurants with carhops. The company name was taken from the initials of the two founders, Roy Allen and Frank Wright. The chain is currently owned by Yum! Brands.

History

A&W began in 1922 in Lodi, California, when Roy Allen took on partnership with Frank Wright to help him with the root beer business he had started in 1919. They branded their product A&W root beer after their last names. Two years later, Allen bought out Wright and began franchising his product. His profits came from a small franchise fee and concentrate sales. There was no set food menu for franchises until 1978. By 1960, they had 2000 stores. In 1971, a beverage division was started, supplying bottled A&W products to grocery stores. The soft drinks sold under this brand are root beer and cream soda, made by Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Inc. In the United States and Southeast Asia, A&W is currently a Yum! Brands, Inc. company.