A&W Restaurants marks a century in business June 20, the first franchise restaurant chain to make the 100-year mark, and had it not been for A&W, there might not be a Marriott.
There might not be a bacon cheeseburger either.
A&W Root Beer was started by California entrepreneur Roy Allen in 1919, serving frosty mugs of root beer from a roadside stand a during a parade honoring World War I veterans in Lodi, California.
Back then, a 10-ounce mug sold for a nickel.
Allen soon partnered with Frank Wright (that’s the A&W) to begin opening restaurants throughout California. It began franchising roadside restaurants in 1925.
Shortly thereafter, in 1927, and on the opposite side of the country, newlyweds J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott opened the first A&W Root Beer franchise in Washington, D.C. They became the first A&W franchise operators to add hot food to the menu, and dubbed their new business Hot Shoppes.
The Marriotts continued expanding the Hot Shoppes business, and by 1957 the company entered the lodging business with a motor hotel in Arlington. Bethesda, Maryland-based Marriott International is now the world’s largest lodging company.
Meanwhile, A&W began growing rapidly following World War II, with many returning soldiers using GI Bill loans to open franchises.
In the 1950s and 60s, the franchise helped create the drive-in restaurant culture across America. Its Modesto, California, restaurant was the inspiration for the movie American Graffiti.
In 1963, A&W became the first restaurant chain to serve a bacon cheeseburger, and its introduction to the menu is credited to Dale Mulder, then a young franchise operator who now serves as company chairman.
The chain says it went through almost 679,000 pounds of bacon in 2018.
Reaching a 100-year anniversary is no small accomplishment for any company, especially one in the food service industry.
A&W has survived recessions, wars, the Great Depression, sugar shortages and 11 ownership changes.
There are currently about 1,000 A&W restaurants around the world, including 600 in the U.S, with 45 new franchise locations scheduled to open this year.
