History of A&W Root Beer
The First Frosty Mug
One hot day in June of 1919, in Lodi, California, an entrepreneur named Roy Allen mixed up a batch of creamy root beer and sold the first frosty mug of this delightful beverage for one nickel. Now, seventy years later, A&W Root Beer is the world's number one selling root beer and is still made fresh daily and sold at hundreds of A&W Restaurants.
Allen purchased the formula for his root beer from a pharmacist in Arizona. To this day, the unique blend of herbs, spices, barks and berries remains a proprietary secret.
With the success of his first root beer stand in Lodi, Allen soon opened a second stand in nearby Sacramento. It was there that what is thought to be the country's first "drive-in" featuring "tray-boys" for curb side service, opened up.
In 1922, Allen took on a partner, Frank Wright, an employee from his original Lodi location. The two partners combined their initials - "A" for Allen and "W" for Wright and formally named the beverage, A&W Root Beer, Three units were opened in Sacramento, then on to other northern and central California locations and to the states of Texas and Utah.
Expanding The Chain
In 1924, Allen bought Wright's share of the business to actively pursue a franchise sales program. He had the name, A&W Root Beer and the A&W logo legally trademarked with the U.S. Patent and Trademark office.
By 1933, the creamy beverage was such a success that Allen had over 170 franchised outlets operating in the mid-west and west. To ensure uniform quality for the namesake beverage, Allen sold A&W Root Beer concentrate exclusively to each franchise operator. His profits were derived from the sale of the concentrate and a nominal license fee.
During World War II no new restaurants were opened and despite governmental sugar rationing (this affected supplies of bottler’s sugar, a necessary ingredient of root beer) and employee shortages (also a result of the war) most A&W units remained successful. After the war the number of A&W restaurants tripled as GI loans paved the way for private enterprise to flourish.
In 1950, with over 450 A&W's operating nationwide, founder Roy Allen retired and sold the business to an aggressive Nebraskan named Gene Hurtz who formed the A&W Root Beer Company. The post war era - the rapidly recovering economy and popularity of the automobile, provided the right environment for Hurtz's company to prosper. Drive-in's were becoming increasingly popular and A&W had the privilege of being one of the few nationally established drive-in restaurant chains. By 1960 the number of A&W's had swelled to over 2000.
The first A&W restaurants outside of the U.S. opened in 1956 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada (the Canadian division eventually became a wholly owned subsidiary of A&W and in 1972, was sold to Lever Brothers, LTD., an international conglomerate.
In 1963, the A&W Root Beer Company was sold to the J. Hungerford Smith Company, the firm which had manufactured A&W Root Beer concentrate since 1921.
In that same year, the first overseas A&W Restaurant opened its doors. Located in Guam, the international division quickly expanded to the Philippines.
Becoming A Full Fledged Foodservice Organization
Three years later, both-A&W and J. Hungerford Smith Company were purchased by United Fruit Company of Boston. In 1970, United Fruit was acquired by The AMK Corporation, who formed the new corporation, United Brands Company. Within this structure the A&W Root Beer Company adopted a new trademark, changed it's name to A&W International, Inc. and began the process of becoming a full-fledged restaurant and foodservice organization.
Many innovative changes were instituted. One was the formation of the National Advisory Council of the National A&W Franchisees Association (NAWFA). This elected board marked the first time in fast food industry history that franchisees had a voice in the formation of their contract, a move Ralph Nader lauded as being one of the fairest in the industry.
The new contract featured a revised royalty agreement. While corporate profits would continue to benefit from the sale of new franchises, other revenue would no longer be generated from the sale of beverage equipment and food items, the new agreement held that each franchisee's royalty fees would be based on a percentage of their restaurant sales. The corporation was now profitable in direct relation to the success of the chain.
Other changes included the expansion of a nationwide distribution network allowing franchisees to purchase concentrates, food items, paper goods and glass mugs. And, programs offered by the corporation were revamped to suit franchise needs - training, marketing, accounting, product development, bookkeeping systems, building design and equipment layout.
America loved the taste of A&W Root Beer. So, in 1971, United Brands formed a wholly-owned subsidiary, A&W Beverages, Inc., for the purpose of making A&W Root Beer available on the grocery shelf. First introduced in Arizona and California, the cans and bottles of A&W Root Beer was an instant success. Retailers nationwide were soon carrying the product.
In 1974, A&W Beverages, Inc. introduced A&W Sugar-free Root Beer and their goodwill ambassador, The Great Root Bear. This life size, loveable mascot has been charming children and adults at grand openings, parades, fairs and community visits ever since.
A standard core menu for the restaurants was introduced in 1978. It was the first time in A&W history that there was a consistent menu offering, And, it was at this time that A&W Restaurants, Inc., the wholly owned restaurant franchise subsidiary was formed.
The corporation launched a new restaurant concept in 1978, The A&W Great Food Restaurant. A modern upscale concept, these facilities featured fresh 1/3 and 1/2 pound 100% pure beef hamburgers, salad bars, ice cream bars and of course A&W Root Beer in a frosty mug. This concept was perhaps ahead of its time, and while they still exist, they have been reformatted to blend in with the current chain wide concept - a modem, comfortable fast food environment at competitive prices serving the finest quality food.
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