A&W Restaurants history

They became the first franchised restaurant company in 1921, and by their peak in the ‘70s had even more stores than McDonalds.

After formally naming their product "A&W Root Beer" (the name reflecting the initials of the two partners), more outlets were opened in Houston, Texas, in 1922.

But A&W lays claim to the first ever Cali drive-in, which opened in Sacramento in 1923.

The crash of the stock market in the autumn of 1929 had profound effects for the entire American economy and the population across the country.

A&W went international opening its first restaurant in Canada in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1956.

Cadbury Schweppes, created during 1969 out of the merger of two famous companies, had already established itself as one of the leaders in the food, beverage, and personal hygiene markets.

Hungerford was acquired by the United Fruit Company just three years later, and in 1970 management at United Fruit Company decided to merge with AMK Corporation in order to form United Brands Company.

A&W restaurants in Canada were initially part of the American A&W restaurant chain until they were sold in 1972 and since then, have been owned and operated in Canada independently and separately from A&W operations in the United States.

Despite the somewhat altered flavor effected by the difference in packaging, the introduction of the beverage was successful and the company introduced Sugar Free A&W Root Beer in 1974.

By 1976, A&W Root Beer had become the leading root beer sold in bottles and cans within the United States, surpassing long-time leader Hires.

In 1978, company management at United Brands decided to form another wholly owned subsidiary, A&W Restaurants, Inc., to manage the growing number of restaurant franchises.

In 1986, the management team at A&W Brands, with the assistance of an investment firm, bought the company from the consortium for approximately $74 million.

In 1989, the company reached a major agreement with Carousel Snack Bars to redesign nearly 200 mall and food court outlets and convert them to "A&W Hot Dogs and More" over a period of two years.

In 1994, A&W Restaurants, Inc. was purchased by Sagittarius Acquisitions.