LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Following its recommitment to expanding its franchise into convenience stores, A&W Restaurants returned to the days of yon with a testament to its craft-beverage roots: Freshly made Root Beer is now being served at all A&W restaurant locations across the globe.
The beverage is created through a mixture of the brand’s top-secret blend of spices, real cane sugar and water to create the signature A&W taste. This summer, the last U.S. restaurants pouring A&W root beer made from a premixed bag switched to mixing it fresh, according to the company.
“Our commitment to serve made-fresh root beer in all of our restaurants signifies a return to our company roots, when our founders Roy Allen and Frank Wright introduced it at a parade honoring World War I veterans,” said Sarah Blasi, vice president of marketing for Lexington, Ky.-based A&W Restaurants. “This beverage has been the cornerstone of our brand identity for almost 100 years, and we are proud to once again make it in each restaurant and serve it fresh.”
The switch to bagged concentrate was a cost- and space-saving move made back in the early 2000s by previous ownership. At the time, large kettles and paddles were required to make the beverage from scratch. The kettles took up needed space and required constant mixing from employees. A&W found a solution in a new auto-mixer, which is smaller, requires far less labor and makes root beer from scratch in much less time.
“Our root beer, like our brand, is iconic, and we want to treat our signature beverage with as much love as we can,” Blasi said. “Now that A&W’s root beer is again made fresh in-house in 100% of our restaurants, it can rightfully assume its position as an original, all American craft beverage."
In February, A&W Restaurants launched a nationwide expansion plan for fuel and convenience-store locations. A&W franchisees own and operate 630 U.S. restaurants, nearly 100 of which are located in gas stations and c-stores. In the past five years, A&W has opened 15 c-store units. The new growth initiative calls for 12 c-store locations to launch in 2017.
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