BNET Industries

A&W Restaurants Inc.

is in the Food Industry

Last Fiscal Year Sales:$75.0M

Private
US

Dow Jones Description

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, more than seventy years later, A&W Root Beer is the world's number one selling root beer and is still mixed 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.

Number of Employees 2,999

Contact Information

1441 Gardiner Ln

Louisville, Kentucky 40213

www.awrestauran...

1 502 874 8300

Peer Companies

NAICS Code Full-Service Restaurants: 722110

Company News

News & Analysis

a&w restaurants inc. and long john silver's inc. - All News and Analysis

Happy Holidays America: Jumpstart Your New Year's Resolution to Get in Shape with a Great Gift

- 2004-12-28

CHICAGO -- Customers Visiting Taco BellR, Pizza HutR, KFCR, Long John Silver'sR or A&WR Restaurants in January Can Receive a Free, Four-Week Membership at Bally Total Fitness Bally Total Fitness (NYSE:BFT), Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC, Long John Silver's and A&W Restaurants announced today a holiday gift that will...

Tags: A&W Restaurants, Brands Inc., KFC Corp., Long John Silver's Inc., Pizza Hut, Taco Bell Corp.
Lexington, Ky.-Based Company Plans to Increase Number of Long John Silver's.

- 2001-10-18

Lexington Herald-Leader, Ky. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Oct. 18--American troops in Pakistan can take a break by having root beer and hamburgers at A&W Restaurants. If they stay long enough, they might be able to stop in at Long John Silver's, too. ...

Tags: Long John Silver's Inc., Yorkshire Global Restaurants Inc.
Lexington, Ky.-Based Fast-Food Chain Will Lose Two Top Executives.

- 1999-08-20

Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Aug. 21 -- Long John Silver's top two executives will leave the firm when its sale to a Michigan fast-food chain closes in September. Lexington's fast-food fish company is being bought for $220 million by A&W Restaurants...

Tags: A&W Restaurants Inc., Long John Silver's Inc.
Lexington, Ky.-Based Long John Silver's Files for Bankruptcy.

- 1999-08-19

Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Aug. 20 -- Long John Silver's has swum full circle. Thirty years ago Wednesday, Lexington's fast-food fish chain opened its first restaurant on Southland Drive. And on that anniversary the firm got the approval of bankruptcy court for...

Tags: A&W Restaurants Inc., Long John Silver's Inc.
Two Major Restaurant Groups Had Humble Beginnings in Kentucky.

- 1999-04-11

Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Apr. 12 -- Jerrico Inc. and Kentucky Fried Chicken both got their start in Kentucky. Here's a look at how it happened. JERRICO INC.: Kentucky's chain-restaurant business history began with hamburgers. Jerrico Inc., a Lexington...

Tags: A&W Restaurants Inc., KFC Corp., Long John Silver's Inc.