A & W was founded in Lodi, California by Roy Allen and frank Wright in 1919 and the first product of the company was A & W Root Beer. Allen started franchising his product in 1921, arguably the first successful food franchising operation. Today, it is a chain of fast food restaurants spread throughout the world with a serving menu of hamburgers, French fries, hot dogs and its signature product the root beer.
The snacks were included in the menu in 1989, when A&W made an agreement with Minnesota based Carousel Snack Bars to convert its 200 locations to “A & W Hot Dogs & More”. In late 2000s, A & W added some new franchises with a combination of nostalgic look and modern technology. These typically have a carhop design with drive-thrroughs and picnic tables.
A & W has tried opening restaurants in countries like Australia, Canada, China, UK, Cuba, Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Qatar, Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and UAE since 2002. Some have been successful while some are still struggling to get their presence noted.
In the US and Sooutheast Asia, A & W is currently a Yum! Brands, Inc. company. Most A & W locations that have opened in US recently are co-branded with one of Yum!’s other chains like Long John Silver’s, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell or Kentucky Fried Chicken.
So, try the hamburger with the root beer…Happy Eating…