23/10/2023
Did you ever visit an A&W Root Beer stand? If so, what location?
Roy W. Allen opened a roadside root beer stand in Lodi, California on June 20, 1919, using a formula that he had purchased from a pharmacist. He soon opened stands in Stockton, as well as five stands in nearby Sacramento - where "tray boys" pioneered drive-in curbside service. In 1920 Allen partnered with Frank Wright, birthing the A&W brand name.
Allen bought Wright out, obtained a trademark, and began selling restaurant franchises - creating one of the first restaurant chains in the United States. Franchise owners could use the A&W name and logo and purchased concentrated root beer syrup from Allen. There was no common menu, architecture, or set of procedures, and some chose to also sell food. By 1933 there were 170 A&W franchises.
Franchises struggled with labor shortages and sugar rationing during World War II, but following the war GI loans helped, in part, the number of A&W outlets to triple. The proliferation of the automobile and the mobility it offered resulted in more than 450 A&W Root Beer stands operating by 1950. That year Allen retired and sold the business to Nebraskan Gene Hurtz, who formed the A&W Root Beer Company.
By 1960 the number of A&W restaurants swelled to more than 2,000. In 1963 the company was sold to the J. Hungerford Smith Company, which had produced Allen's concentrate since 1921.In the late 1970s A&W Restaurants was formed to manage restaurant franchising. It was bought in 1982 by A. Alfred Taubman.
In October 1993 A&W Beverages was folded into Cadbury Beverages. It spun off its U.S. beverages business as Dr. Pepper Snapple Group in 2008.
Shop over 9,000 old school t-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, and hats at American Retro Apparel: www.americanretroapparel.com
