A&W Restaurants: Difference between revisions
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[[Image:A&W restaurant in Page, Arizona.jpeg|thumb|An American A&W restaurant in Page, Arizona]] |
[[Image:A&W restaurant in Page, Arizona.jpeg|thumb|An American A&W restaurant in Page, Arizona]] |
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'''A&W Restaurants, Inc.''' is a [[chain store|chain]] of [[fast-food restaurants]], distinguished by its draft [[root beer]] and [[root beer floats]]. A&W was arguably the first successful food [[Franchising|franchise]] company, starting franchises in 1921. Today it has franchise locations throughout the world, serving a typical fast food menu of [[hamburgers]] and [[french fries]], as well as [[hot dogs]]. A number of its outlets are [[drive-in]] restaurants with [[carhop]]s. The company name was taken from the last name initials of partners Roy Allen and Frank Wright. The chain is currently owned by [[Yum! Brands]]. |
'''A&W Restaurants, Inc.''' is a [[chain store|chain]] of [[fast-food restaurants]], distinguished by its draft [[root beer]] and [[root beer floats]]. A&W was arguably the first successful food [[Franchising|franchise]] company, starting franchises in 1921. Today it has franchise locations throughout the world, serving a typical fast food menu of [[hamburgers]] and [[french fries]], as well as [[hot dogs]]. A number of its outlets are [[drive-in]] restaurants with [[carhop]]s. The company name was taken from the last name initials of partners Roy Allen and Frank Wright. The chain is currently owned by [[Yum! Brands]]. It's been around awhile and was not like the start of the grease trend. It started evrything. They are the reason we have obesity problems in America. Please join our petition to stop fast food in North America. Contact Shirley Williams to confirm your arrival and save the health of our youth. |
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==Corporate profile== |
==Corporate profile== |
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Revision as of 17:34, 5 March 2010
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (May 2008) |
| A&W logo | |
| Company type | Wholly owned subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Fast Food |
| Founded | 1919 |
| Headquarters | Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Products | Hot dogs, root beer, cheese curds hamburgers |
| Parent | Yum! Brands |
| Website | awrestaurants.com |
A&W Restaurants, Inc. is a chain of fast-food restaurants, distinguished by its draft root beer and root beer floats. A&W was arguably the first successful food franchise company, starting franchises in 1921. Today it has franchise locations throughout the world, serving a typical fast food menu of hamburgers and french fries, as well as hot dogs. A number of its outlets are drive-in restaurants with carhops. The company name was taken from the last name initials of partners Roy Allen and Frank Wright. The chain is currently owned by Yum! Brands. It's been around awhile and was not like the start of the grease trend. It started evrything. They are the reason we have obesity problems in America. Please join our petition to stop fast food in North America. Contact Shirley Williams to confirm your arrival and save the health of our youth.
Corporate profile
History
A&W began in 1919 in Lodi, California, when Roy Allen took on partnership with Frank Wright to help him with the root beer business he had started that year. They branded their product A&W Root Beer after their last names. Two years later in 1921, Allen bought out Wright and began franchising his product, arguably the first successful food franchising operation. His profits came from a small franchise fee and concentrate sales.
By 1960, they had 2000 stores. In 1971, a beverage division was started, supplying bottled A&W products to grocery stores. The soft drinks sold under this brand are root beer and cream soda, made by Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Inc. For some time in the 1970s, A&W had more locations than McDonalds.[1] Oshkosh, Wisconsin franchise manager Jim Brajdic said: "Problems back then, including a lawsuit, franchisee discontent and inconsistencies in the operation, caused the chain to flounder and branches to close."[1]
In 1989, A&W made an agreement with Minnesota-based chain Carousel Snack Bars to convert that chain's 200 locations (mostly kiosks in shopping malls) to "A&W Hot Dogs & More".[2][3] Some A&W Hot Dogs & More locations are still in operation today. In late 2000s, A&W started adding some new franchises with a nostalgic look and modern technology inside.[1] They have a carhop design with drive-thrus and some have picnic tables.[1]
In the United States and Southeast Asia, A&W is currently a Yum! Brands, Inc. company.[1] Most A&W locations that have opened in the U.S. in recent years have been co-branded with one of Yum!'s other chains—Long John Silver's, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, or Kentucky Fried Chicken.
Other countries with A&W restaurants
Australia
Until 2003, Tasmania did not have any A&W stores. However, a trial run was tried, with A&W being combined with KFC stores, offering both store menus in the one location. The trial ended in late 2004, with the A&W branches closing down. In March 2005, A&W opened a joint-branch with Long John Silvers in Kings Park, New South Wales. All Australian A&W restaurants closed in early 2007, due to poor sales.
Bahrain
There is an A&W restaurant located in the Desert Dome of the U.S. Naval Support Activity Bahrain.
Bangladesh
A&W opened its first outlet in Bangladesh on 15 December 2004. This 170-seat outlet is located at Gulshan 1, Dhaka is the largest A&W outlet in South Asia. The food served is 100% halal and is very popular with the local youth population, with root beer being the driving force of the large number of sales. A&W Bangladesh serves an "All you can eat offer" during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and "Baishakhi Bonanza" during the Bengali new year. As of August 2008, the restaurant was closed due to unknown reasons and is said to reopen in mid 2009 at new location in Gulshan 1.
Canada
The Canadian chain of A&W restaurants are operated by a separate company, called A&W Food Services of Canada Inc. While originally part of the American operation, the Canadian company no longer has any corporate connection to the American chain.
There are approximately 700 A&W restaurants operating in Canada.[4]
The first A&W drive-in restaurant in Canada opened on Portage Avenue in Winnipeg in 1956.
China (Mainland)
Used to[5] have several restaurants in Beijing. It is called "艾德熊"
Egypt
During 2006, all A&W outlets closed. Before that, there were at least 4 outlets in Egypt;
- Heliopolis, Cairo
- Heliopolis Sporting Club, El Sherouk City
- Nasr City, Cairo
- Green Plaza Mall, Alexandria
Germany
There were 3 combined KFC/A&W Restaurants. All of them have since been closed (Cologne in 2005, Garbsen (picture of former KFC/A&W co-branded location in Garbsen) near Hannover in 2005, Berlin in 2007 (Pic of former Berlin A&W). Both of the Berlin and Cologne locations reverted to KFC-only franchises locations. The Garbsen location closed at the same time as the A&W portion of the restaurant. This example shows the same difficulty faced by A&W in Australia and in the UK.
Indonesia
A&W has a large presence in Indonesia, operating over 200 outlets. Business appears to be growing stronger in Indonesia market. Like in Bangladesh and Malaysia, the A&W outlets in Indonesia are 100% halal. The A&W outlets in Indonesia are the only A&W outlets that sell rice, instead of mashed potato, due to strong customer preference. A&W outlets are spreading all over the malls in major and minor cities to compete with 2 giant competitors, KFC and McDonald's.
Japan
First opened in 1963 in Tokyo, A&W drive-in restaurants were the first fast-food franchise to appear in Japan. Currently, they are found in Okinawa Prefecture, the southernmost prefecture of Japan, at Yokota Air Base in Tokyo, and at the Misawa Air Base Base Exchange food court. A dining room outlet opened in the Festival Gate amusement park in Osaka in 1997, but closed within a year.
Kuwait
There were two A&W outlets in Kuwait up until 2003 when both closed.
Malaysia
A&W's first store in Asia Pacific opened at Kuala Lumpur's Batu Road (now known as Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman) in 1963. It was also the first fast food corporation from the United States to set foot in the country. However, A&W had a declining business era from 1997 - 2000. The most famous A&W outlet in Malaysia is undoubtedly the drive-in outlet near Taman Jaya, Petaling Jaya, a satellite city of Kuala Lumpur. It opened in 1965 and quickly became a favourite gathering place for students, especially from the nearby Assunta and La Salle Secondary Schools. The unique A&W root beer mug was often "collected" by these young customers. It was also a favorite filming location for Malaysian movies during the 1970s and early 1980s. Customers from the 1970s will recall Tuesdays as Coney Dog Day.
During the mid-1980s, A&W also operated a second Petaling Jaya outlet at the Atria Shopping Complex in Section SS22 Damansara Jaya. In Penang, A&W had an outlet at KOMTAR and Penang International Airport and has since been closed down, but new stores have been opened at malls around Penang. During the 1990s, A&W operated an outlet at Terminal 3 of the former Subang International Airport. This outlet ceased operations when the Kuala Lumpur International Airport shifted from Subang to KLIA in 1998.
To date, several more A&W outlets have been opened in Malaysia, mostly in shopping malls. The largest A&W mall outlet is located in Suria KLCC, the most prominent shopping complex in Malaysia. An A&W outlet opened for a number of years in Likas Square, Kota Kinabalu, but was closed down in 2004.
Just like in Bangladesh, the food at Malaysian A&W outlets is 100% halal.
Philippines
The Philippines had a number of A&W outlets starting in the 1960s.[6] These were all located in Metro Manila, and all were closed by 2004.
Qatar
At one point there were three A&W restaurants in Qatar's capital city Doha, but two were shut down. The last is still running in Doha International Airport but is a faint image of what other international A&W are like.
Singapore
The first A&W store opened at Dunearn Road in Singapore in 1966 as the first fast food restaurant from the U.S.A. in that country. The chain expanded in the later years, including one at Singapore Zoo which closed in 1999. The chain's Singapore operations dwindled by the beginning of the 21st century, and by 2002 it had only 7 outlets around the island. A&W finally closed in 2004.
Thailand
There are more than 30 A&W restaurants in Thailand. After a recent expansion, most locations are found at petrol stations on major highway routes. This includes 18 at PTT stations, six at Petronas stations, and four at Shell stations. Locations in shopping complexes include Pantip Plaza, Siam Square, and the Silom Complex. A full location list is available here: [1]
United Arab Emirates
There used to be at least 3 A&W outlets in UAE, however they have all recently been replaced with Marrybrown restaurants. To date, it is unknown why all the A&W outlets were replaced. The very first A&W outlet was opened in 1996, at a large shopping mall called Bur Juman Centre, located in Dubai. Two other outlets were opened soon after at the Um Sequim Spinneys, and at the Thunder Bowl. It is believed that business was doing well in these outlets, until they started to be replaced in 2006. This situation is very similar to Egypt (above) where all 3 A&W outlets there also closed down in 2006.
United Kingdom
There were a few A&W outlets in the United Kingdom, all of which shared retail space with KFC such as Ashton-under-Lyne, Derby, Glasgow, and Clayton. An A&W shared space with a Long John Silvers outlet in Walsall, which opened in 2004. These outlets have now all closed.
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e Wallenfang, Maureen (2008-09-24). "A&W chain banks on state for its rebirth". Appleton (Wis.) Post-Crescent. pp. A-10.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ http://www.awrootbeer.com/hist_hist3.htm A&W Root Beer - History & Collectables
- ^ http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3190/is_n17_v25/ai_10659563 A&W prexy sets pace for growth in the '90's - A&W Restaurants; George Michel
- ^ http://www.aw.ca/publicinfo.nsf/eng/history
- ^ http://www.allbusiness.com/legal/legal-services-litigation/7668371-1.html
- ^ Business World Philippines: Philippine brands set foot on foreign shores by Jemileen U. Nuqui and Veronica C. Silva, November 25, 2003
1. ^ http://www.awrootbeer.com/hist_hist3.htm A&W Root Beer - History & Collectables
2. ^ http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3190/is_n17_v25/ai_10659563 A&W prexy sets pace for growth in the '90's - A&W Restaurants; George Michel
3. ^ BusinessWorld Philippines: Philippine brands set foot on foreign shores by Jemileen U. Nuqui and Veronica C. Silva, November 25, 2003
External links
A&W Careers