Английская Википедия:A&W Restaurants
Шаблон:Short description Шаблон:About Шаблон:Use mdy dates Шаблон:Infobox company
A&W Restaurants (also known as Allen & Wright Restaurants) is an American fast food restaurant chain distinguished by its burgers, draft root beer and root beer floats.[1][2] The oldest restaurant chain in the United States,[3] A&W's origins date back to 1919 when Roy W. Allen set up a roadside drink stand to offer a new thick and creamy drink, root beer, at a parade honoring returning World War I veterans in Lodi, California.[4][1] Allen's employee Frank Wright partnered with him in 1922 and they founded their first restaurant in Sacramento, California in 1923.[5] The company name was taken from the initials of their last names – Allen and Wright. The company became famous in the United States for its "frosty mugs" – the mugs were kept in a freezer and filled with A&W Root Beer just before being served to customers.
Evolving into a franchise in 1926, the company today has locations in the United States and some Southeast Asian countries, serving a fast-food menu of hamburgers, hot dogs and French fries.[6] A number of outlets serve as drive-in restaurants that have carhops.[7] Previously owned by Yum! Brands, the chain was sold in December 2011 to a consortium of A&W franchisees through A Great American Brand, LLC.[2][8] A&W restaurants in Canada have been part of a separate and unaffiliated chain since 1972.
History
On June 20, 1919, Roy W. Allen opened his first root beer stand in Lodi, California. Shortly afterwards, the effect of the period of prohibition that existed in the United States from 1920 to 1933 gave Allen and his stand with a beverage with "beer" in the name a heavy rebound.[9] Four years later, A&W began when Allen and Frank Wright opened their drive-in restaurant in Sacramento, California, combining both of their initials for the name, and selling the root beer from Allen's stand. Curbside service was provided by tray boys and tray girls. In 1924, Allen purchased Frank Wright's stake in the business. In 1925, Allen began franchising the root beer, while the franchisee added the other menu items and operated at their discretion. Most of the restaurants that opened under this scheme were in the highways of the Central Valley region, mainly to travelers.[9] This may have arguably been the first successful food-franchising operation. Allen sold the company in 1950 and retired.[4]
A&W's initial menu relied heavily on root beer and snacks, such as popcorn and peanuts, as well as sandwiches on sliced bread.[9]
In 1927, J. Willard Marriott gained franchise rights for Washington, D.C. and the neighboring cities of Baltimore and Richmond. Subsequently, he moved to Washington to open a root beer stand with Hugh Colton. These stands subsequently became Hot Shoppes, paving way for the later creation of one of the largest hospitality corporations in the world.[10]
A&W survived the Great Depression and labor shortages during World War II but benefitted from the post-war recovery of the American economy, with fast food and drive-in restaurants beginning to take shape.[9]
Expansion
In the expansion years of the 1950s and 1960s, franchisees were signing 20- or 25-year contracts under the older model.[4] The chain expanded into Canada in 1956, opening restaurants in Winnipeg and Montreal. By 1960, A&W had 2,000 restaurants.[1][12] In 1963, the chain opened its first store on Okinawa, which at the time was under American control.[13] In the following years, the chain branched into other foreign markets, including Guam (first territory outside of the American continent to open a restaurant, in 1962),[14] the Philippines and Malaysia.[1] The first restaurant in Malaysia (Malaya at the time) was opened by Al and Geri Lieboff, a couple from Las Vegas, who got the franchising rights for Malaysia and Singapore. Setting up the chain seemed to be complicated, as they were unable to find a proper site, and in the recruitment process, Malayans had no consent in adorning Western "cabaret girl" style clothes.Шаблон:Clarify Already at the time of setup, kids were starting to favor chicken, burgers and hot dogs rather than rice and curry, and within the next five years, would also see a rise in new locations, to an up to 22 within five years.[15]
Dale Mulder opened up a Lansing, Michigan, A&W franchise in 1961.[4] In 1963 Mulder added the bacon cheeseburger to his menu after a customer made repeated orders for bacon to be added to his cheeseburger. Thus A&W is credited with inventing the bacon cheeseburger.[16]
United Fruit Co. and United Brands Company subsidiary
In 1963, the company was sold again, followed by another sale in 1967 to United Fruit Co. conglomerate. AMK Corporation purchased United Fruit in 1970. Then AMK formed United Brands Company to hold A&W.[4][1]
In 1971, A&W Beverages Inc.—a beverage subsidiary—began supplying bottled A&W products to grocery stores. The bottled products would become available nationally.[4] In 1972, A&W's Canadian division was sold to Unilever.
A&W attempted to open restaurants in mainland Japan in the early 1970s, specifically in Fukuoka prefecture and the regions of Kanto and Kansai. The chain's performance in the mainland was sluggish in contrast to Okinawa, due to several factors such as the 1973 oil crisis, prompting the chain to withdraw from the market. A&W's Japanese operations are still handled from Okinawa.[17]
In the 1970s, A&W had more stores than McDonald's,[18] with a peak in 1974 of 2,400 units.[4] 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."[18] A&W moved to a modern-style franchise agreement which introduced royalty payments and new standards. However, as their 20- or 25-year original agreements expired, many franchisees refused the revised terms.Шаблон:Example needed In 1980, the number of restaurants had fallen to 1,300, in the United States (mostly in the Midwest and the North West), Asia and Europe. In 1980, the Singaporean franchisee Temenggong Ltd. had increased the number of restaurants in the country, while nine new restaurants were planned in Malaysia. There were also plans to open restaurants in the Philippines and Hong Kong.[19]
In 1985,[20] A&W began offering the Third Pounder to compete with McDonald's Quarter Pounder. As advertised, the Third beat the Quarter in taste tests and was less expensive by weight. In his 2007 memoir, former owner A. Alfred Taubman claimed research had revealed that it had been unsuccessful in part due to Americans' widespread innumeracy, specifically their inability to understand fractions: 1/3 was perceived as smaller than 1/4 (due to the smaller denominator) in spite of being a larger quantity.[21] The burger was relaunched in 2021 as the 3/9 Pound burger, humorously attempting to capitalize on the now-popular fractions misunderstanding story.[22]
Taubman Investment Co. subsidiary
In 1982, A. Alfred Taubman purchased A&W[23] and placed it under Taubman Investment Co.[4] Taubman only purchased the restaurant company and not A&W Beverages. The chain dropped to fewer than 500 locations in the mid-1980s. A freeze on issuing franchises was put in place.[4]
In 1985, the chain was struggling in Singapore, having lost its relevance to newer, larger chains, and having lost its dominance in the fried chicken area to KFC. The chain was about to amp up its operations in the Asian region, with a possible launch in Hong Kong as well as three new restaurants in Thailand.[24]
A&W Great Food Restaurants
A new format concept, A&W Great Food Restaurants, was developed. Ten corporate-owned locations were opened to test the concept, which was a sit-down, upscale, family-theme restaurant with a large salad bar and homemade ice cream.[4]
A restaurant in Ximending, Taiwan opened on February 22, 1986.[25]
In 1987, the company was headquartered in Livonia, Michigan and Mulder became CEO and president. The freeze was lifted and a push occurred in 1986 that added 60 franchise units.[4] In 1989, A&W made an agreement with Minnesota-based Carousel Snack Bars to convert that chain's 200 stores (mostly kiosks in shopping malls) to A&W Hot Dogs & More.[12][26] Some A&W Hot Dogs & More are still operating.[18]
Yorkshire Global Restaurants subsidiary
In 1995, Taubman sold A&W to Sidney Feltenstein.[23] A&W merged with Long John Silver's to form Yorkshire Global Restaurants based in Lexington, Kentucky. In 2000 Yorkshire agreed to test multi-branded locations with Tricon Global Restaurants. By March 2002, the Yorkshire-Tricon multi-branding test consisted of 83 KFC/A&Ws, six KFC/Long John Silver's and three Taco Bell/Long John Silver's and was considered successful by the companies.[27]
A&W entered the mainland Chinese market in 1996, the franchisee for the country being Aidewei and had eight restaurants in Beijing.[28] Later, due to arrears of franchise fees since 2000, Adway lost the A&W trademark in 2002. The eight restaurants weren't operating well and were plagued by mismanagement. An outlet in Yansha with 140 seats in a crowded, strategic location turned out to have limited business, while the restaurant in Anzhen had few customers.[28] Following the buyout of the parent chain by Yum! Brands in 2002, it was announced in March 2003 that negotiations with Adway had broken down, leading to the franchisee's bankruptcy that same year. The restaurants closed successively from October 2002 to September 2003.[29] The "father of American fast food", as dubbed by the Chinese press, didn't convince the local culture and tastes, especially with the rise of local fast food.[28]
In 1997 a small A&W restaurant opened in Festivalgate in Osaka, offering standard A&W fare.[30] The restaurant closed in 1999.[31]
In the late 2000s, A&W added franchises with a nostalgic look and modern technology. They have a carhop design with drive-thrus and some have picnic tables.[18]
Yum! Brands subsidiary
In March 2002, Yorkshire merged with Tricon Global Restaurants to form Yum! Brands.[27][32] Subsequently, in January 2003, Yum! announced that A&W and Long John Silver's would move their operational base from Lexington to Louisville, as operating the chains from Lexington was considered "impractical and cost-inefficient", preferring to operate all of its chains from Louisville.[33]
In September 2001 the Singapore branch was taken over by KUB, who also oversaw the restaurants in Malaysia. At the time of takeover it had twelve restaurants, but by November 2002, the number had dwindled to eight. Its restaurants had already downgraded: the Ang Mo Kio restaurant shut down, the Tampines restaurant had refused to repair its air conditioning systems and cable TV was switched off in all outlets. Food sales had decreased about 5-12%.[34]
A&W opened its first outlet in Bangladesh on December 15, 2004.[35] There is currently one outlet in Gulshan.[36]
Most A&W stores that opened in the U.S. during Yum!'s ownership were co-branded with another of Yum!'s chains—Long John Silver's, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, or KFC.[6]
In 2009, its operations in Southeast Asia were in a mixed situation. Operations in Indonesia and Bangladesh were thriving, while the restaurants in Thailand and Malaysia were facing uncertainties. The Malaysian franchisee KUB planned to increase the number of restaurants to 60 up from 37 in 2012 despite net losses of $1.5 million.[37]
A Great American Brand LLC
In January 2011, Yum! Brands announced its intention to sell A&W along with Long John Silver's. Citing poor sales for both divisions and overshadowing by its other chains,[38] Yum! planned to focus on international expansion for its remaining brands, with particular emphasis on growth in China.[39] In September 2011, Yum! announced that it would sell the chain to A Great American Brand, a consortium of various A&W franchisees in the United States and overseas.[32] The sale was finalized on December 19, 2011, under the leadership of returning CEO Kevin M. Bazner.[8] Administration of A Great American Brand was divided between the national A&W francisee association, the largest overseas franchisee and Bazner. With the purchase, A&W relocated its headquarters back to Lexington, employing a staff of 30 in late 2011, aiming to double to 60 within a five-year period while setting a growth target after that. Potential targets for growth were going to be small towns, as well as non-conventional locations, such as shopping malls, airports and universities. The chain had 1,200 restaurants at the time, 850 of which were in the US, with the remaining primarily in Asia. The chain, instead of competing heavily against larger chains, continued to rely on its core strength, smaller cities and towns of the USA.[38]
In early 2013, A&W introduced its first new product in several years: a six-ounce version of its soft-serve blended dessert treat. Mini Polar Swirls were the first product to be launched on Vine.[40] The following summer, 250 of A&W's restaurants began hand-breading their chicken tenders, moving towards higher-quality menu items and expanding their chicken category. In April 2014, the Hand-Breaded Chicken Tender Texas Toast Sandwich was added to the menu as a limited time offering, along with a campaign to create the world's longest branded hashtag.[41] In June 2014, A&W launched two new flavors of its Polar Swirl dessert treat: Sour Patch Kids and Nutter Butter.[42]
In October 2013, A&W opened its first new concept restaurant, A&W Burgers Chicken Floats.[43] The new concept focuses on fresh made-to-order food and heavily emphasizes customer service. The menu features burgers made with fresh beef and a choice of toppings, hand-breaded chicken tenders, all-beef hot dogs and several sides.
In April 2019, A&W returned to Singapore after a 16-year absence, its first location being at Jewel Changi Airport.[44][45]
In June 2019, A&W became the first franchise restaurant chain to turn 100.[46]
A&W announced in March 2022 that it was going to withdraw from the Thai market due to economic losses. The restaurants shut down on March 20.[47][48]
There are nearly 1,000 A&W Restaurants worldwide with approximately 600 in the U.S.[46]
Operations
A&W is the only major fast-food chain in the United States to be owned entirely by franchisees, since the 2011 sale from Yum! Brands to A Great American Brand, LLC., which is mostly under the control of the National A&W Franchisee Association (NAWFA). The current owners rely heavily on single-brand restaurants, in contrast to combined, co-branded restaurants, which came from prior administrations. As of December 2021, there were 900 restaurants in the US and Asia.[49]
Advertising
A&W doesn't do national advertising, the primary factor for such being the lack of restaurants in certain parts of the United States.[50] In January 2013, A&W Restaurants appointed Lexington-based advertising agency Cornett Integrated Marketing.[51]
In January 2019, ahead of its hundredth anniversary, A&W removed the ampersand from its logo as part of a tongue-in-cheek campaign to bring back the ampersand to the alphabet as its 27th letter.[52]
A&W supports Disabled American Veterans and since 2013 collects funds for it on National Root Beer Float Day, which is observed on August 6. Donation figures for 2019 were of a record $175,000.[53]
Mascots
In the 1960s, a character named Chubby Chicken appeared on all Chubby burgers.[54]
In 1963, A&W introduced four choices of hamburgers and their corresponding Burger Family members: Papa Burger, Mama Burger, Teen Burger, and Baby Burger.[54][55][11] Each burger had a wrapper featuring a cartoon image of the corresponding character.
The chain in the United States also used Dennis the Menace as a bespoke mascot in the 1960s, with special comics for the restaurants appearing mainly in print advertising.[56]
Rooty, the Great American Root Bear, originated as a prototype mascot in kids' meals in the US, but it was in Canada in 1974 that it gained further recognition,[57] as a counter to the Ronald McDonald character of McDonald's[1][6] and first appeared in the United States and in Asia shortly afterwards.[58] However, the character's introduction was almost aborted when marketing received focus group research results that reported a poor reaction to him Шаблон:Citation needed. In reaction, the marketing director, acting on instinct about the appeal of the character, ordered the researcher to return to Toronto with the cover story that he never presented the report. The researcher complied and Rooty was presented to the franchisees as is. Rooty proved a popular marketing success.[59] Rooty's adoption implied the phasing out of the Burger Family and the renaming of almost all of the burgers in the line outside of Canada.[60]
Throughout the 1970s, '80s, and '90s, Rooty was the face of A&W, both the bottled drinks and the restaurant chain, on television and print advertising. His presence all but disappeared in the late 1990s, but in 2011, under A Great American Brand's ownership, Rooty came out of retirement. He has since been featured in print ads, on A&W's website, as the voice of their official Twitter account, and in a variety of YouTube and Vine videos.[61] A bronze statue of the bear was erected at the lobby of the current headquarters.[62] In 2013, Rooty became the first mascot to have an official LinkedIn profile,[63] which was quickly shut down as Rooty was not considered "real" by the authorities at Linkedin.[61]
The mascot made national headlines on January 24, 2023, when a parody tweet referencing the M&M's controversy was posted to its social media profiles, showing Rooty wearing pants, claiming that the mascot's lack of pants was "polarizing".[64] Outrage started emerging from conservative sectors, including Fox News (the report also aired on sister network Fox Business), claiming it to be real.[65] In a follow-up tweet, A&W said that the announcement was a joke.[66] Spokesperson Liz Bazner said that the initial post was "purely in jest", and that A&W has no plans to change Rooty's outfit.[67]
In 1998, the characters from the comic strip "Blondie", including Blondie and Dagwood Bumstead, were licensed for use at A&W franchises as part of an "All American Food" campaign.[68]
Gallery
-
Fried chicken with rice, Jakarta, Indonesia
-
A&W waffles ice cream, Malaysia
-
An A&W drive-in, in New York, 1973
See also
- A&W (Canada)
- A&W Root Beer
- List of drive-in restaurants
- List of hamburger restaurants
- List of hot dog restaurants
References
External links
Шаблон:Fast-food chains of the United States Шаблон:Yum! Шаблон:Portal bar
- ↑ 1,0 1,1 1,2 1,3 1,4 1,5 Шаблон:Cite book
- ↑ 2,0 2,1 Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ 4,00 4,01 4,02 4,03 4,04 4,05 4,06 4,07 4,08 4,09 4,10 Шаблон:Cite news
- ↑ Ошибка цитирования Неверный тег
<ref>; для сносокJohn A. Jakle, Keith A. Sculle 1999не указан текст - ↑ 6,0 6,1 6,2 Шаблон:Cite book
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite book
- ↑ 8,0 8,1 Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ 9,0 9,1 9,2 9,3 Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ 11,0 11,1 Шаблон:Cite book
- ↑ 12,0 12,1 Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite news
- ↑ Milestones in the History of A & W Restaurants, Inc., by A & W Restaurants, Inc., January 1995.
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite news
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite news
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ 18,0 18,1 18,2 18,3 Шаблон:Cite news
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite news
- ↑ A&W advertisement, Chelsea Standard, May 1, 1985
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite news
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite news
- ↑ 23,0 23,1 Шаблон:Cite news
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite news
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite news
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite news
- ↑ 27,0 27,1 Шаблон:Cite press release
- ↑ 28,0 28,1 28,2 Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ 32,0 32,1 Шаблон:Cite news
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite news
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite news
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ 38,0 38,1 Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite news
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ 46,0 46,1 Шаблон:Cite press release
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite news
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ 54,0 54,1 Шаблон:Cite book
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite book
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite news
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite news
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite news
- ↑ 61,0 61,1 Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite news
- Страницы с неработающими файловыми ссылками
- Английская Википедия
- Companies based in Lexington, Kentucky
- Privately held companies based in Kentucky
- Drive-in restaurants
- Fast-food chains of the United States
- Fast-food franchises
- Fast-food hamburger restaurants
- Hot dog restaurants in the United States
- Restaurant chains in the United States
- Restaurants established in 1919
- Root beer stands
- 1967 mergers and acquisitions
- 1970 mergers and acquisitions
- 2002 mergers and acquisitions
- 2011 mergers and acquisitions
- 1919 establishments in California
- Root beer
- Страницы, где используется шаблон "Навигационная таблица/Телепорт"
- Страницы с телепортом
- Википедия
- Статья из Википедии
- Статья из Английской Википедии
- Страницы с ошибками в примечаниях
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
