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A&W Restaurants, Inc., is a chain of fast-food restaurants distinguished by its draft root beer and root beer floats. A&W started opening franchises in California in 1923. The company name was taken from the surname initials of partners Roy W. Allen and Frank Wright. The company became famous in the United States for its "frosty mugs", where the mug would be kept in the freezer prior to being filled with root beer and served to the customer. Today, it has franchise locations throughout much of 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. Previously owned by Yum! Brands, the chain was sold to a consortium of A&W franchisees, through A Great American Brand, LLC, in December 2011.〔 A&W restaurants in Canada have been part of a separate and unaffiliated chain since 1972. ==History== A&W began in June 1919, at 13 Pine Street in Lodi, California, when Roy W. Allen opened his first root beer stand. Two years later, Allen began franchising the drink, arguably the first successful food-franchising operation. His profits came from a small franchise fee and sales. The following year, Allen partnered with Frank Wright to help Wright with the root beer business he had started that year. They branded their product A&W Root Beer. In 1923, they opened their first drive-in restaurant, in Sacramento, California, creating the nation's first system of franchise roadside restaurants. The chain went international in 1956, when A&W opened in Winnipeg and Montreal, Canada. By 1960, A&W had 2,000 retail stores. A&W Canada has been separately owned and operated from the American company since 1972. In 1963, the chain opened its first store on Okinawa.〔"Where the Songs Linger, but the Tune Is Different", by Martain Flacker, New York Times, 20 February 2012〕 Also that year, the first bacon cheeseburger from a chain restaurant was served at one of the A&W locations. In the following years, the chain branched into other foreign markets, including the Philippines and Malaysia. In 1971, a beverage division began, supplying bottled A&W products to grocery stores. The soft drinks sold under A&W are root beer and cream soda (both original and diet), made by Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Inc. In the 1970s, A&W had more stores than McDonald's. 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."〔 In 1982, A. Alfred Taubman purchased A&W. 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. Some A&W Hot Dogs & More are still operating. 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.〔 In 1995, Taubman sold A&W to Sidney Feltenstein.〔 A&W merged with Long John Silver's to form Yorkshire Global Restaurants based in Lexington, Kentucky. Yorkshire in 2000 agreed to test multibranded locations with Tricon Global Restaurants. By March 2002, the Yorkshire-Tricon multibranding test consisted of 83 KFC/A&Ws, six KFC/Long John Silver's and three Taco Bell/Long John Silver's and was consider successful by the companies. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「A&W Restaurants」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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