A&W Restaurants

By Bruce Shawkey


One of my favorite restaurants for fast food is A&W Drive-Ins. Sister Dawn and I were just at an A&W Drive this past week near Windsor, Wis. It was actually a full-service restaurant with booths and tables. We had chili dogs, onion rings and root beers in frosty mugs. We had a BOGO coupon from the Bucky Book for the chili dogs, so it was an inexpensive meal out.

My memories of A&W Drive-Ins go way back to childhood at Grandma and Grandpa's house in Lodi, Wis., as there was an A&W right across the road. It was an eat-in-your car, or picnic tables or take it home place. We would order hamburgers (Papa Burgers, Mama Burgers, Baby Burgers),  French fries, and root beer. Sometimes, we would order dessert .... cones or sundaes.  I think the tab for the whole thing was less than $5.

During high school, a few of my buddies and I would pile into Steve Shoman's Mustang convertible, and go to an A&W after a round of golf at Monona Golf Course (to fulfill a a phys-ed requirement), drink large root beers, and then see who would belch the loudest and longest (Shoman always won).

A&W Restaurants have a long history, going back back to 1919 when Roy W. Allen set up a roadside drink stand to offer a new thick and creamy drink, root beer, at a parade honoring returning World War I veterans in Lodi, California. It is said to be the oldest restaurant chain in America. Allen's employee, Frank Wright, partnered with him in 1922 and they founded their first 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. A&W mugs have

become collectible over the years, most stolen from restaurants.

Evolving into a franchise in 1926, the company today has locations in the United States and some Southeast Asian countries, serving their traditional fast-food menu of hamburgers, hot dogs and French fries. A number of outlets serve as drive-in restaurants that have carhops, but other locations have dine-in seating.

Back in the day, curbside service was provided by tray boys and tray girls. In 1924, Allen purchased Frank Wright's stake in the business. In 1925, Allen began franchising the root beer, while the franchisee added the other menu items and operated at their discretion. This may have arguably been the first successful food-franchising operation. Allen sold the company in 1950 and retired.

Mascots

In 1963, A&W introduced four choices of hamburgers and their corresponding Burger Family members: Papa Burger, Mama Burger, Teen Burger, and Baby Burger. Each burger had a wrapper featuring a cartoon image of the corresponding character. Rooty, the Great American Root Bear, originated in Canada in 1974.


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