A Frosty Mug at A&W – Life in America

A look back at A&W through the years.

In 1919, Roy Allen opened his first roadside root beer stand in Lodi, California. A parade to welcome home World War 1 veterans was being held and ice cold root beer was a perfect compliment to the hot summer night.

Allen then partnered with an employee named Frank Wright in 1922 and became A&W, which are their initials. The partners leased their stands to other operators which expanded the business into new cities.

By 1924, Allen had bought out Wright and A&W became the first restaurant in America to sell franchises the following year. Allen supplied the frosted mugs full of root beer and the franchisee would choose food to go on their menu.

By the middle of the century, A&W continued to grow with the post war boom that followed World War 2. Roy Allen retired and sold the company in 1950.

In Lansing, Michigan the A&W franchise added a bacon cheeseburger to their menu, after numerous requests for it. A&W is now credited with the invention of the bacon cheeseburger in 1963.

The bottles and cans of A&W Root Beer that we know today, became available in 1971 at grocery stores nationally.

The A&W chain saw a decline in the 1970s due to inconsistencies in the operations of each franchise. This caused a realignment and a new franchise agreement to be introduced. Many of the original franchise owners did not agree to the new terms and allowed their agreement with A&W to expire.

During the 1980s and 1990s, A&W bounced around to different ownership. The restaurants were modernized to meet the demands of the day and also to compete with other chains. At one point A&W was merged with other chains including Long John Silvers, KFC, and Taco Bell.

In 2011, the chain was sold again, this time to a group of A&W franchise owners called A Great American Brand. They currently operate around 1,000 restaurants across numerous countries.

In 2019, A&W became the first restaurant franchise to turn 100 years old.