A&W Restaurants
A now closed A&W restaurant in Page, Arizona | |
| A&W | |
| Company type | Private |
| Industry | Restaurant |
| Genre | Fast food |
| Founded | June 1923 in Lodi, California, U.S. |
| Founder | Roy W. Allen Frank Wright |
| Headquarters | , U.S. |
Number of locations | 900+ |
Area served |
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Key people | Kevin Bazner (Chairman of the Board) Betsy Schmandt CEO President ) |
| Products | Hamburgers, fried chicken and tenders, hot dogs, root beer, root beer floats, cheese curds, waffles, soft serve, french fries, milkshakes and rice |
| Revenue | $330 million (2020) |
| Owner | A Great American Brand, LLC |
Number of employees | approx. 35,000 (2019) |
| Website | awrestaurants.com |
A&W Concentrate Company, doing business as A&W Restaurants, or simply A&W, is an American fast food restaurant chain distinguished by its "Burger Family" combos, draft root beer and root beer floats. A&W's origins date back to 1919 when Roy W. Allen set up a roadside drink stand offering root beer at a parade honoring returning World War I veterans in Lodi, California. Allen's employee, Frank Wright, partnered with him in 1922 and they founded their first A&W restaurant in Sacramento, California, in 1923. The company name was taken from the initials of their last names – Allen and Wright. The company became famous in the United States for its "frosty mugs" – the mugs were kept in a freezer and filled with A&W Root Beer just before being served to customers.
Evolving into a franchise in 1926, the company today has over 900 locations in 16 countries, with 460 in the United States, Southeast Asian countries and Germany, serving a fast-food menu of hamburgers, hot dogs and french fries. A number of outlets serve as drive-in restaurants that have carhops. Previously owned by Yum! Brands, the chain was sold in December 2011 to a consortium of A&W franchisees through A Great American Brand, LLC. A&W restaurants in Canada have been part of a separate and unaffiliated chain since 1972.